Retribution
by mikotyzini
Summary: It didn't feel like an overreaction. Not from how difficult it was to keep her hands from openly trembling. Not from the way her heart hadn't stopped racing since she'd woken up. It didn't feel like an overreaction - it felt like something was wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! So...sorry this took so long. I know I mentioned in Something Borrowed that I was almost done with a Bumblebee story, but then I wrote a huge White Rose story instead (more on that later). But here it is! I've finished it and it's here for you to read now!**

 **As a forewarning, this is my most mature story to date - meaning that there are like three swear words and a little violence. It would still get a PG-13 in theaters, but just wanted to let you know in advance if you're thinking 'woah this is different.' It's 8 chapters total and a small kicker at the end. I'll post a new chapter each week, I think.**

 **On White Rose, I still need to do a bunch of editing, but it'll be my longest story to date (I'm so sorry Bumblebee fans). And I haven't forgotten about RCR either!**

* * *

The air was calm and cool as the sun set from the sky, shading the distant horizon in brilliant orange. The smallest amount of humidity hung in the air as low clouds promised a fresh layer of dew in the morning and quite possibly some rain overnight. It wasn't her favorite kind of weather...but that didn't matter when she was spending time with her very favorite person. As far as she was concerned it could be pouring rain and she'd be just as content as if it were sunny, dry, and warm. Which, coming from her, was quite a statement to make.

"Think it's safe for us to go back yet?"

"Hey…" she replied to the question, turning to give Yang a playful pout. "I thought tonight was about _us_."

The pout must have been a little too realistic because Yang immediately backpedaled from the insinuation, waving her hands through the air like that might wipe away the question she'd just asked.

"No, no - it totally is! Just me and you and being out on the town together - far away from the dorms where the princess is doing god-knows-what with my little sister..."

When Yang wrinkled her nose at the comment and gave an adorable shudder, Blake couldn't help but laugh. Even though Ruby and Weiss had been officially dating for far longer, the two girls had only recently crossed a new milestone - finally leaving that incredibly long handholding stage behind.

Blake and Yang had kind of raced through most of those stages...but anyone who'd spent time with Yang would absolutely understand that. She was positively magnetic. And that smile...it melted right through Blake's heart each and every time.

Although _Yang_ had actually been the more hesitant of the two of them, which had been one of the cutest things Blake had ever seen...while it lasted. Shy, bashful, tentative Yang was an endangered species and, unfortunately, had already gone extinct. By now Yang was as confident and self-assured about their relationship as she was about seemingly everything else in her life.

Less could be said of how comfortable Yang was with the most recent step forward Weiss and Ruby had taken, although their two teammates were none the wiser to this fact. It was only Blake who knew the depths of Yang's struggles to accept that her younger sister, the one she'd been taking care of since they were both small children, had grown up. And now that their teammates were on the same level as they were there had been more than a few _uncomfortable_ situations involving their tiny dorm room.

Yang's propensity not to knock certainly didn't help matters.

Neither did her habit of not locking the door.

So, in the interest of giving their partners a little uninterrupted privacy, the two of them had decided to leave Beacon behind for the evening. They'd caught an airship to downtown Vale where they'd eaten a fantastic dinner at the fanciest restaurant they could find - all courtesy of the way-too-clearly delighted Weiss Schnee.

Seriously. Blake needed to speak to Weiss about being so transparent with her feelings. It was something that never seemed to be a problem for the normally composed girl except when it came to matters regarding Ruby. In those instances there might as well be a neon sign above the heiress' head broadcasting her intentions. And, as much as Yang loved Weiss, she might be one slip of the tongue away from being on the business end of one of the brawler's fists.

As Yang's sparring partner for the last couple years, Blake knew exactly how much those hurt.

"Well…" she responded slowly, taking Yang's hand in her own and squeezing tightly. "If tonight really _is_ about us, then there's no need to hurry back...right?"

Her words had their intended effect, bringing that trademark radiant smile back into existence - lighting up the sidewalk far better than the pitiful street lamps standing nearby.

"What do you have in mind?" Yang asked, lilac eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Those who didn't know Yang very well would suggest something outrageous...something high energy, something bold or adventurous or _daring_. That was the vibe the blonde gave out - of wanting to live on the edge, always pedal to the metal in the fast lane. It might be true in many instances, but there were some moments when that was the exact opposite of what Yang truly wanted to do. And, since Blake knew her girlfriend better than most people, she was actually pretty good at picking up on when those times were.

"How about something thrilling...exhilarating... _death_ defying…"

"Ohhhh...I like where this is going," Yang replied with a grin. "What could you possibly have in mind?"

One of Blake's ears flicked in amusement, internally wondering if Yang had known all along that Blake was intending to tease her.

"How about...we go for a walk. Through that park."

Nodding towards the park entrance across the street from them, Yang burst into joyful laughter. The sound brought out a giggle from Blake, just as it always did.

"Let's cheat death tonight?" Yang asked facetiously before pulling Blake across the quiet road.

It wasn't a very well lit area, but they were in the nicer part of Vale so she wasn't too worried about being here after the sun set. Plus, with the combination of her eyesight and Yang's strength, any would-be mugger would be in for a very rude surprise upon approaching them.

It was with no fear that they walked the narrow pathway away from the main road, passing between towering oak trees and industrial park benches while leaving the sound of the city streets behind. There weren't many people out tonight, but Blake could spot several others some distance away - jogging the trails, playing fetch with their dog in the open spaces, or simply walking along like she and Yang were doing.

"What do you think they're doing right now?"

Laughing, Blake turned and shook her head at her partner, who was still stubbornly stuck back at Beacon.

"I think it's best if you don't think about it.".

"I can't help it…" Yang mumbled, looking at the ground and kicking a small pebble in front of them. Pursing her lips, Blake's eyes chased the pebble away while trying to come up with a way to distract Yang. Maybe a little logic would help her see the situation in another light.

"How would you feel if Ruby acted weird about you and me being together?"

"I'd knock some sense into her," Yang answered without a second thought. When Blake turned and gave Yang a look that said she should consider that answer, she finally sighed. "Which she should do to me. You're right. Of course you're right - you're always right."

"Well I'm glad you can finally admit that," Blake teased with a smile, reaching over to squeeze Yang's hand. "But do you need suggestions of other things to think about?"

"Please." Yang gave Blake a thankful grin and refused to drop her hand, instead intertwining their fingers while they walked along the path.

"How about...us?"

It was a vain and self centered suggestion - or at least, one would think, but…

"That's my _favorite_ subject!" Yang practically squealed, nearly crushing Blake's hand when squeezing a little too tightly in excitement. "How about...oh! Remember the day we first met?"

The memory made Blake smile. That was the night she'd played so very aloof when Yang had dragged Ruby over for an introduction. But, honestly, Blake hadn't imagined anyone would try to approach her when she'd isolated herself on the periphery of the room to read her book in peace. That and she'd never been known to give off that 'open' or 'approachable' vibe, so for Yang to pick her, of all people...

"I wasn't very personable, was I?"

The question was rhetorical. Remembering some of the things she'd said made her shake her head in amazement. It had definitely _not_ been the best first impression.

" _So...what's your name?"_

" _...Blake."_

" _Well, Blake, I'm Yang - Ruby's older sister. I like your bow!"_

" _Thanks."_

" _It goes great with your...pajamas!"_

" _Rrrright…"_

" _...nice night, don't ya think?"_

" _Yes, it's lovely - almost as lovely as this book - that I will continue to read - as soon as you leave."_

"You must've thought I was a complete idiot," Yang replied with a soft chuckle, the two of them thankfully having moved far past that unfortunate meeting.

"No...I thought you were interrupting my book...and that your shorts were ridiculously short," Blake commented teasingly, knowing her last comment would draw a good reaction from her partner.

"Oh be honest - you tried to look up them."

"I did not!" she immediately refuted with a flush, having gotten exactly the playful argument she'd been searching for. She hadn't _tried_ to look up Yang's shorts, but she'dseen an awful lot of leg anyway...it had been impossible _not_ to from her position sitting on the floor with Yang standing over her.

Well, maybe she could have turned away...

"I know you _love_ those shorts though. You almost cried the day I thought someone took 'em from my locker!"

"I wasn't going to _cry_ ," Blake disputed. "I was upset because...because that meant someone had something that belonged to you."

Squeaking in surprise, she suddenly found herself lifted clean off the ground by a pair of strong arms, feet dangling a good foot in the air. Her instinct was to try to squirm out of Yang's grasp, but the movement only managed to get her further locked into an inescapable death grip. It was only when she'd stopped fighting the embrace that Yang pulled Blake close and whispered into her ear the words she'd been hoping to hear -

"You're the only one I could ever belong too..."

By the time Yang set Blake gently back on the ground she was blushing uncontrollably, consumed by the love she held for the gorgeous girl she had the privilege of calling her best friend, her partner, and her girlfriend. When she'd tracked down Yang in the Emerald Forest during their initiation, she'd written off the escapade as nothing more than ensuring she had a competent partner for the next four years of schooling. If she was going to be forced to work with another student, at least she wouldn't be stuck with someone completely useless.

It was only as they'd grown closer that her budding feelings had become more and more impossible to deny. Deny she did, of course, for as long as she possibly could. Even _after_ Yang had confessed her feelings...Blake had tried to contain her own.

There was something extremely vulnerable about having feelings like this. While in the White Fang she'd been taught that these emotions were weaknesses - vulnerabilities that would be exploited by enemies in order inflict the most pain and agony possible. Watching families torn apart, hearing their wails of sorrow, she'd sworn to herself that she would never put herself in that position to begin with. Keeping those lessons in mind, she'd tried to keep Yang out of her heart for as long as she could.

In the end, it had been a fruitless endeavor. Her feelings had grown to the point where holding them inside had begun causing her the type of pain she'd been trying to avoid.

It was a weakness. Yang was her weakness. But Yang was also strong in so many ways...ways that helped ease away Blake's hesitation. So these days, Blake freely admitted her feelings to Yang - only to have them returned in droves.

With a smile, Blake pulled Yang forward and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before immediately pulling away. By now Blake knew better than to linger too long in Yang's personal space - _especially_ when they were out in public. That was just asking for a display of affection that would leave a blush on her cheeks for the rest of the night.

"I don't know where you come up with those lines sometimes," she commented with a pretend scoff, turning away so that they could continue their leisurely stroll.

"They just pop into my head whenever I look at you! Like *bam* there's a line. *Bam* there's another one!"

Chuckling at the response, her body let out an involuntary shiver when a small blast of cold, evening air swept across them. The tiny movement was picked up by Yang, whose warm semblance negated any cold no more than an instant later. When the air surrounding them warmed to the temperature of a summer day, even though it was a brisk fall evening, Blake couldn't help but to let out a content sigh.

It was like taking a walk with her own personal sun - one that shone only for her.

"Have I mentioned recently how much I love your semblance," she murmured while leaning into Yang's shoulder to soak up even more warmth. One strong arm looped around Blake's shoulders, increasing the temperature substantially and making her even happier.

"Hmm...nope! Don't think I've heard that in a few days, at least."

"Yang, I love your semblance," Blake replied before playfully adding, "It could very well be my favorite thing about you."

"Ouchhh," Yang instantly responded with fake hurt in her voice. "I _knew_ you were only after my fire. Everyone wants a piece of the heat."

Rolling her eyes, Blake was about to respond when she noticed a young man sitting on a nearby bench staring at them. Or, more accurately, staring at Yang.

It certainly wasn't uncommon for Yang to attract the attention of the opposite sex - especially when she looked as great as she did tonight. The jacket...the jeans...everything fit together in a way that was extremely flattering in an effortlessly beautiful way. It was almost unfair how she could pull two random pieces of clothing from the closet and make them look like the year's top fashion.

Yang looked amazing. Blake knew that. But even though she knew it, that didn't mean she was particularly fond of the unapologetic intrusions on her girlfriend's body. So when they walked past she slid her arm around Yang's waist - marking her territory subtly, but firmly.

"Ohhhh...I love when you get jealous," Yang whispered excitedly in Blake's ear, making her turn in surprise to find Yang grinning at her - having just witnessed the extra strength glare Blake had been leveling towards the boy.

"I'm not jealous," she denied, trying to maintain a small amount of pride even though she'd been caught red-handed.

"Uh huh…" Yang replied disbelievingly before leaning over and placing a kiss on Blake's temple, moving away with a soft 'hmm' of satisfaction.

They both knew that Blake got a _little_ jealous when other people encroached on her partner, but...that was because Yang was the light of her life. Never before had she had someone or something she guarded so fiercely - daring anyone to attempt to take the girl away from her. Because it wouldn't happen. She would fight tooth and nail to make sure Yang was always by her side.

Of course, Yang only seemed to enjoy it immensely.

They walked for several minutes in peaceful silence, the kind Blake only knew to exist when she and Yang were together. It was as if, even without words, they were still communicating with each other - speaking through tiny body movements, fleeting glances, and shared smiles.

By now she knew better than to believe that fairy tales existed, but...if they did...this would be it.

"What do you think the chances are we get the room to ourselves tomorrow?"

Smiling when Yang decided to break the silence with that question, Blake leaned her head against the girl's shoulder, still basking in the warm glow and an overabundance of affection.

"Probably pretty good - _if_ you ask nicely."

"Ha...I always ask nicely!"

"Picking Ruby up and tossing her into the hall doesn't count as asking."

The reply made Yang laugh, most likely enjoying the memory of Ruby's arms and legs flailing in all directions while trying futilely to free herself from her sister's iron grasp before being unceremoniously thrown out into the corridor.

It wasn't very often that Yang could actually _catch_ Ruby, but if she did there would be no escape.

"Maybe you can do the asking then?"

Blake 'hmm'd at the question, pretending that she actually needed to think about whether or not she wanted to do that.

"I guess I could ask. If _you_ promise to behave," she finally replied, leveling her partner with a gaze that said she knew exactly what type of shenanigans Yang had planned. In return, Yang made the cutest scout's honor gesture right as they reached the opposite end of the park. The two of them temporarily separated as they looked around in order to gather their bearings.

"Was that the entire thing?" Yang asked, looking behind them at the park they'd just passed through relatively quickly.

"I guess so. A small one, huh?" Blake replied before shrugging. Squinting in the distance, she read the nearest street sign to figure out exactly where they were. "The airship landing is a few blocks from here. Should we head back?"

"If you think we'll miss the...festivities?"

Rolling her eyes, she retook Yang's hand and pulled her towards the street in the direction they needed to go. The last bench on the lighted path was occupied by two young men. Both Faunus, based on the slightly different scent they gave off.

Faunus or not, they both had the gall to stare Yang's way - the action once again causing Blake to bristle with indignation.

"You seem to be getting a lot of unwanted attention tonight," she remarked through gritted teeth, trying to ignore this latest intrusion as much as possible. Her gripe only made Yang chuckle happily while they walked past and crossed the empty street, leaving the park behind.

"Hate to break it to you, Blake, but it's you they're looking at."

"What?" she asked in confusion, glancing back only to find that they'd already turned away.

"I know you have the whole modesty thing down pat, but most of the time guys are actually looking at you," Yang clarified with a huge smile.

For just an instant, Blake thought that Yang was actually speaking the truth, but the smile confirmed that Yang had once again lured Blake into a cleverly wrapped compliment.

"They're not," she replied with a shake of her head, willingly walking into Yang's trap.

"They're not? Huh...well guess it's hard for me to tell since I can only see you."

It was cheesy and corny, but it still made her heart do this rapid ba-dump, ba-dump in her chest.

"You're too charming for your own good," she responded before uttering a soft 'excuse me' to a couple they brushed past on the sidewalk.

"What? My girlfriend is so beautiful strangers are always staring at her. How does that make _me_ the charming one?"

Yang turned and flashed a (charming) smile in order to emphasize...whatever point she was trying to make. It was really hard for Blake to tell sometimes whether Yang was actually arguing with a valid goal in mind or whether she was just trying to compliment Blake as much as possible. With another shake of her head, she retook Yang's hand so they could walk the last couple of blocks together.

It had been really nice to have a night away from Beacon. They'd been so busy with schoolwork recently that this was the first time in months they'd had the free time to get off school grounds for an entire evening. Not that she really had anything to complain about. As long as they were able to spend every night together, Blake was happier than she'd ever been.

The streets and shops became more familiar as they continued their long loop around several city blocks towards the airship station they'd used to get to Vale earlier that evening. There were more people in this section of the city, with shoppers only now beginning to head home with their bags filled with new purchases.

"You'd look cute in that," Yang commented, pointing to a yellow and white sundress on display in one of the windows.

"Not quite my style," Blake replied, eyes lingering on the dress as they walked past. It was too...bright.

"I know, but you'd still look cute in it."

It was such a simple comment, but it made Blake feel really special. The fact that Yang would look at a random piece of clothing draped on a mannequin and think of Blake…

Letting out a quiet 'hmm' of content, Blake squeezed Yang's hand a little tighter while they made the last turn and found their destination looming up ahead. This station was actually moderately busy for the time of day, likely due to this being a popular destination for students. That also explained several familiar faces milling around waiting for the next ship to Beacon.

After buying a pair of passes, the two of them were walking up to the landing pad when Yang let out a sudden gasp and nearly scared Blake right out of her skin in surprise.

"I totally forgot I wanted to bring back cookies for Ruby!" Yang pointed towards the advertisement that had jogged her memory - an image of a humongous chocolate chip cookie taking up the entire video screen with thin wisps of cleverly created steam rising off of its surface. "Her favorite place is right around corner. I'll run and get them -"

"I can come with you," Blake immediately offered, turning away from the arriving airship that was supposed to take them back to Beacon. But Yang waved her away.

"No, you can go on ahead."

"...are you sure?"

They normally did everything together, so for Yang to decline her company…

"Yeah, I know you've got a new book stashed in your dresser that you've been dying to read," Yang teased with a knowing smirk.

"What? Yang, how -"

"How did I know? Please, Blake - how long have we been dating now? I know a look of longing and desire when I see one."

When Yang winked suggestively, Blake playfully slapped her in the shoulder.

"I'm not _longing_ for it. I just…really want to read it."

"Then go for it! I'll meet you back in a jif."

Biting her lip, Blake quickly considered her options while the chime rang out announcing the boarding of the next airship. It was an awfully enticing offer, but…

When Yang winked at her again Blake relented, finally understanding that Yang probably had something else up her sleeve - something she needed to be alone in order to accomplish. This happened every now and again and would always result in a spectacularly cute and thoughtful gift...or an adventure the two of them would go on once everything had been set up. So Blake let it go for the time being, excitement growing as she smiled and turned towards the transport to head home.

Pausing for a second, she turned back.

"Love you," she called out softly, her face heating up from admitting as much in a public environment. But when Yang gave a radiant smile in return, Blake completely forgot she was supposed to feel embarrassed.

"Love you too, Kitten!"

With a half-hearted roll of her eyes and embarrassment returning full force, Blake hopped onto the airship just as the doors were about to close and found an empty seat by the window. When the ship undocked and slowly rose into the air, she was able to watch Yang disappear from the landing while heading towards the bakery nearby.

Kitten…it was the rather unfortunate nickname Yang had decided upon for Blake. As much as she pretended to hate it, she really couldn't. Especially not when Yang's explanation for the name had been so truly adorable. Realistically, Yang could call Blake anything and she wouldn't mind one bit. As long as the underlying intention was love, she would love it in return.

Leaning back in the seat she allowed her mind to wander while the airship sailed through the sky - mostly lingering upon the girl she'd just left behind, trying to guess what sort of surprise Yang had come up with this time. Maybe...if Blake was lucky...she'd find out tonight when Yang got back to Beacon. That thought put a smile on her face for the entirety of the flight home, imagining her reaction and, most importantly, how she could adequately thank Yang this time.

It was remarkable how daydreaming about Yang could pass the time. In what could only be a few heartbeats later, the airship was making its final descent.

Beacon's airship landing was far from the main buildings, resulting in a ten to fifteen minute walk after she disembarked. It was a distance she crossed quickly, maybe a _little_ more excited about that new book than she'd originally let on. It had been in her drawer for over a week now, filling her with burning desire whenever she pulled out an outfit for school. She wanted to read a _few_ chapters...that's all.

Of course, she knew that she would devour as much as possible before Yang got home. If there was _one_ complaint she had about their relationship, it was that Yang was so...all consuming...that it made it difficult for Blake to read in her presence. Not that Yang was intentionally being distracting! She was actually surprisingly content to sit quietly on the bed beside Blake, flipping through a magazine or playing games on Ruby's scroll while allowing Blake her 'quiet time.' But who wanted to read an exciting story when they could be experiencing something amazing in real life?

Whenever Blake found these little pockets of time when Yang wasn't around, she dove into them headfirst. Although she would only enjoy the book for so long before she began to miss Yang instead.

It was a really complicated situation…

Making the left turn into the hallway Team RWBY's dorm was located in, she hesitated. They'd been gone for hours...that _had_ to be more than enough alone time for Ruby and Weiss, right?

Padding softly towards the door, her ears told her an entirely different story. Apparently the pair hadn't bothered to check their scrolls and read the message she'd sent them on the airship notifying them of her impending arrival. Seeing as how Blake had been guilty of the same offense just recently, she couldn't really blame them. It was only unfortunate because now she had no subtle way to let them know she was back.

Sometimes she really wished that she could make her footsteps louder, but it was nearly impossible. No matter what she did her steps seemed to remain soft and silent. It was great when she needed to sneak up on an unsuspecting enemy...or to surprise a certain blonde with a good morning kiss...but in situations like these it was truly a hindrance.

' _You should get a bell.'_

' _Weiss!'_

' _What? I wasn't saying WEAR a bell. Just get one and then you can jingle it when you need to announce your presence.'_

' _Weiss, I swear to god...'_

' _Come on, Yang, I'm trying to be helpful! She said it was a problem, I'm trying to fix it. I don't hear you coming up with any genius ideas.'_

' _Ruby, have you found the 'off' switch for her yet?'_

' _I'm just saying - it would be useful. Then we'd never lose track of - hey! Let go of me, you big -!'_

Maybe the bell wouldn't have been such a bad thing, but since that idea had been almost literally crushed into oblivion she was going to have to figure something else out.

Reaching their door, trying to ignore the sounds from within, she noisily got her keys out of her pocket and made sure to shake them as loudly as possible. Then she dropped them on the ground just to make a little extra noise. Slowly reaching down to collect them, she could hear the two inhabitants of the room scrambling around to...undo whatever they'd been doing.

Once the door was unlocked, she opened it much slower than usual to give the girls a couple of extra seconds before nervously peeking her head of them were sitting on Weiss' bed - Weiss 'working' on homework while Ruby 'read' a magazine upside down. Walking calmly into the room, Blake pretended that she hadn't heard what the two had been doing just before she'd unlocked the door. As if their flushed cheeks, deep breaths, and Weiss' uncharacteristically ruffled hair weren't dead giveaways.

Honestly...they were lucky Yang hadn't come back with her.

"Where's Yang?" Ruby asked curiously, glancing up from her still upside-down reading material.

"She had to make a quick stop, but she'll be back in a bit," Blake answered calmly while dragging her pajamas off of her pillow and making her way to the bathroom to change and get ready for some reading.

Once she'd changed and brushed her teeth, she made her way back to her bed and collected the book she'd been dying to read from her dresser. Moving Yang's haphazardly strewn pajamas out of the way, she slipped underneath the covers for more warmth. Breaking open the book, feeling the spine crease for the first time, she took a deep breath of brand new ink and paper - one of the best smells in the world. Besides the strangely amazing combination of citrus and spent gunpowder Yang seemed to carry everywhere...

Finding the first sentence, Blake suddenly remembered how annoyingly cold her bed was when Yang wasn't around. Usually Yang would be right here, that blazing semblance creating Blake's own personal sauna to enjoy. But she could deal with the cold for a little bit in the interest of devouring as much of this book as possible before getting back to her own happy ending.

This particular book was the story of a prince who finds out that his father had actually usurped the throne by exiling the true royal family - pretending that they had perished at sea in a tragic accident. Distraught at his father's deception, the prince sets out to find this family with the wish to set things right. Over the course of his travels, he discovers many places - villages and towns he'd never known to exist in the giant kingdom he'd once thought of as his own. Everywhere he goes he searches for any clue that will lead him to the family's whereabouts.

It's in a faraway land that he finally finds a clue in the form of a myth spread by locals - one of a family that lived by themselves at the far edge of the forest who had appeared 'overnight.' The prince makes his way there immediately only to find there is no longer a family living there, but just a singular young woman spending her days in a small wooden cabin in a secluded clearing.

At first, the woman is untrusting and wants nothing to do with him. So he comes back, day after day, bringing gifts of food and other luxuries it looks like she could use. When it's obvious she won't be swayed by possessions, he tries to help around the cabin instead - chopping stacks of firewood, fixing broken sections of fence...the type of work he'd never done before in his life, so was therefore terrible at and injured himself more often than not.

Bit by bit she warms up to his presence. And then, one day, he ends up hurting himself and she tends to his wound. While she's wrapping his hand in bandages, she finally tells him her story -

Blake's concentration was broken when Weiss got up to get ready for bed. Blinking in surprise, she looked out the window to find that night had officially fallen and the sky outside completely black. Reaching over to the dresser, she tapped the top of her scroll so it would tell her the time. But...it must have gotten off somehow, because that couldn't be right.

"Hey Ruby?" she called across to the girl still lounging on Weiss' bed. "What time is it? I think my scroll is messed up again."

Ruby glanced at her own scroll before replying.

"11:30."

Frowning at the answer, Blake picked up her scroll and looked at it again. It did say 11:30...but there were no missed messages.

"What's the name of that cookie place you like again?" she asked, trying to ignore the way her heart was beginning to pound in her chest.

"Captain Chips!" Ruby answered with a happy grin. "Why?"

"Just wondering…" Blake mumbled absentmindedly while looking up the bakery's address on her scroll. It wasn't that far from the airship station...and they'd closed almost two hours ago.

Where was Yang? It had been nearly four hours now since they'd separated. It couldn't have taken _that_ long to go get cookies and then whatever else she'd planned to do...could it? Unless it was a very, _very_ elaborate gift...

"Yang should be back by now…" she mused, mostly to herself, right as Weiss walked back into the room and sat down on the bed beside Ruby.

"Maybe she ran into someone she knew. You know how she can get talking," Weiss suggested before running one hand lovingly through Ruby's hair and placing a quick kiss on her forehead.

"I...yeah, I guess you're right." Regardless, Blake checked her scroll one more time.

Sometimes Yang would run into someone she knew and spend _hours_ catching up. Blake had witnessed this on several occasions, during which she'd actually read good chunks of novels on her scroll while waiting for her partner to finish talking.

Sending off a quick 'where are you?' message, she stifled a yawn while Weiss turned off the light on their side of the room. Tapping her scroll impatiently against her hand, Blake waited several minutes for a response before turning off the light near her bed as well. Setting the scroll right by her pillow, she pulled the covers over her but didn't close her eyes just yet.

It obviously wasn't preferred to go to bed alone, but this had happened once or twice before - each time Blake had woken in the middle of the night with Yang slipping into bed beside her. So while she wasn't worried, she just...wished Yang had messaged to say that she would be back late. But that was probably just Blake being overly protective and a little possessive. Yang could take care of herself, wherever she was.

Closing her eyes and sighing, Blake thought instead of all the possible surprises Yang could have set up for her in the morning. If it was taking this long, it had to be something pretty elaborate. Maybe they would go on a scavenger hunt around Vale? That would be fun. Yang could be hiding gifts around the streets right now, setting up clues that would lead Blake to them later. Or maybe it would only be one big gift with lots of clues - like a treasure chest and a treasure map!

Whatever the present ended up being...no matter how big or small...Blake already knew that she would love it.

Knowing this, it was with a little smile on her lips that she drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Ducking under a low hanging branch, her heart sped up when the forest finally began to thin in front of her. Had she finally made it? After nearly an entire day traveling at a snail's pace through the thickly overgrown woods, she hoped so. Anticipation began to grow as she stepped through another group of tall trees before spotting something clearly out of place - a cabin.

It was what she'd been searching for. At least, she thought it was.

Brushing past a few more overgrown bushes, she made her way cautiously towards the small wooden building nestled out here in the middle of nowhere. As she approached, her mind began to fill with questions she was only now considering.

Why was it so far from the nearest village? It had been miles since she'd left the last sign of civilization behind - surely living this isolated must be tedious and undesirable...so who lived here? And why was it so important that she find them?

There was a short, wooden fence hastily erected around the perimeter of a small clearing, although she had to wonder what purpose such a small fence held when she could easily step overtop of it. Pieces of wood had fallen out of place in many sections and left gaps that certainly wouldn't act as any sort of barrier or deterrent.

While the fence was a broken down mess, to the left she could see a well-maintained vegetable garden covered in wire designed to keep the animals out. The rest of the yard was filled with various wildflowers and weeds alike - not overgrown, but not as immaculately kept as possible. This place was clearly lived in by _someone_ , a fact made all the more evident by the pillar of grey smoke rising from the chimney.

The person she was looking for was here - she could feel it.

As she made her way towards the front door she tried not to step on too many flowers, with moderate success. Stepping onto the wooden front porch she glanced behind her to find a clearly marked trail in the grass where she'd just walked. So much for not disturbing the property...

With a sigh she turned back to the door, raised one hand, and knocked.

In the quiet forest, the knock was far too loud and seemed to echo off of the trees behind her. The sound of birds rapidly taking flight drew her attention backwards, watching in surprise as a flock of crows took angrily to the skies with loud caws of protest. It was only when they'd disappeared beyond the trees that she turned back to the cabin and was surprised to find the door was now wide open - even though she'd never heard anyone come to answer it.

Taking a hesitant step inside, she looked around carefully, searching...searching...for someone. But something was wrong. She could feel it in the stillness inside the cabin, which should have been filled with laughter and good cheer.

It was comfortably sized - large enough to house a small family. There was a fire roaring in the fireplace with a single rocking chair sitting in front of it…

Still rocking.

"Hello?"

Her voice fell flat with no response to be found.

There was a small kitchen to her right...a small dining table...a bed pushed into one corner...all the elements of life were here, but the cabin was empty.

Mounting concern drew her towards the door directly across from her - a door that would lead back outside. She was walking quickly now, an unsubstantiated amount of dread coursing through her veins while each footstep creaked loudly on the worn wooden floor. Shoving open the back door, she suddenly found herself on another wooden deck overlooking another cleared out space filled with long grass and flowers.

It looked exactly like the front of the cabin except that there, standing right in front of her, was the person she'd been searching for.

"Yang!" she called out in relief, only now remembering the name of the girl she'd been looking for all along. Yang turned around at the sound of her name and smiled when her beautiful lilac eyes fell upon Blake. The smile filled Blake with ease and soothed her turbulent nerves.

"Hey there, stranger," came the reply in a warm, steady voice that could lull her to sleep. Yang took one step to greet Blake before suddenly stopping and turning back towards the forest in confusion.

Her own mind was registering the confusion, hearing the sound of birds growing louder and louder - impossibly loud. Covering her ears did nothing to block out the noise while she frantically searched the skies for the source of the noise.

There. The black birds from before appeared out of nowhere - a massive cloud of shadows that seemed to rustle every leaf in the forest as they swooped out of the sky and into the branches. After landing they dropped down out of the trees - but they weren't birds when they hit the ground. They were men - men shrouded in black - no faces, no voices.

"Yang, run!" she shouted, feet carrying her off the porch as she tried to reach her partner before the figures. But she was slow - impossibly slow - tripping in the long grass, watching as the yard seemed to expand before her very eyes and carried Yang further and further away from her. "Yang!"

The weeds grabbed at her ankles, but she struggled forward - stretching one hand out as far as she could. But the more she fought to move the less she was able to. Soon her feet were stuck to the ground, tied down as the weeds and grass wound around them and tightened like thick ropes.

"Yang!" she cried out in vain, straining to move an inch further to no avail. Yang was having the same difficulties as Blake - moving too slowly, hindered by the weeds.

"Blake -" Yang called while reaching out one hand. Her eyes were beginning to fill with apprehension as they struggled to help one another. If they could just move another inch...they could reach each other...

But it was too far. The darkened figures caught up easily.

Yanked backwards, Yang let out a startled yelp before turning to fight against the shadows. She kicked and punched and threw them away from her, but there were too many for her to hold off by herself.

"Let go of her!" Blake heard herself yell before redoubling her efforts to free herself. She needed to get there. She needed to help. _Yang needed her._ But the plants had intertwined themselves fully around her legs now, rooting her in place.

Helplessly, she watched as two of the shadows managed to grab Yang by the arms while another kicked into the back of her legs and forced her to her knees. Still Yang struggled, but was unable to free herself from their grasp.

"Yang!" Blake called out again as she was pulled to her own knees by the grass latching around her arm and dragging her towards the ground. Thick vines began wrapping themselves around her torso and made it increasingly difficult to breathe while her other arm was bound tightly to her side.

Gasping in a thin breath, she focused on Yang instead of the yard swallowing her whole. Yang looked back - both of them ceasing their struggles, relenting their fight.

"Blake…" It was nothing more than a whisper as Yang's eyes began to shimmer with tears.

A wheeze was forced through Blake's lips as the weeds constricted around her lungs and squeezed out her last breath of air. With no oxygen and her airway completed blocked off, a labored, empty gulp was all she could manage in response while her vision began to darken. But she didn't let her eyes leave Yang, wishing for her partner to be the last thing she would ever see.

At that moment when panic was setting in and her lungs were begging for air, the shrouded men suddenly sprouted enormous blackened wings and set flight - dragging Yang up into the sky with them.

"BLAKE!"

With a gasp, Blake's eyes flew open. Thrashing around in panic, she kicked everything off of her while her breaths came in heaves. Her senses came back to her slowly - telling her she was in her bed at Beacon, she could calm down, she could breathe, she wasn't being strangled to death. Sweat was covering her skin, but the moisture was cooling rapidly now that her covers had been cast onto the floor. And, besides her erratic heartbeat, the room was quiet and motionless. There was no forest, no shadow men...

But she could still hear the echo of her name ringing off the walls...reverberating in her mind and heart. She didn't need to pat the bed beside her to know that it was empty and cold, but she did so anyway. Focusing her ears, she could pick out the sound of Ruby and Weiss breathing across the room, but that was it. No Yang.

Grabbing her scroll off the dresser and turning it on, she squinted when the bright light filled the room.

2 a.m….and still no messages.

Something was wrong.

Something was very, very wrong.

Before another thought could pass through her mind, she was out of bed and pulling open drawers to find her combat gear. Quickly changing right there by the bed she then opened the top drawer to collect Gambol Shroud - the feeling of cool metal in the palm of her hand reassuring in the absence of warmth. Placing the weapon on her back, she slipped her scroll into her pocket and pulled her boots out from underneath the bed.

In her haste, she must not have been as quiet with the drawers as she should have been - resulting in a soft rustling from the bed beside her.

"Blake...?" Ruby asked groggily, propping herself up on one elbow while wiping the sleep from her eyes. "What're you doing…?"

Ruby's voice stirred Weiss awake - the heiress giving a low groan of annoyance at having been woken at such an early hour.

"Yang's still not back," Blake explained while sitting on the edge of her bed to lace up her boots with trembling fingers. "I'm going to go find her."

"She's probably at some club or something…" Weiss mumbled grumpily.

" _No_. Something's wrong. She should be back by now."

Her tone was so defiant they both stared at her - Weiss still annoyed, Ruby much more concerned. But Blake _knew_ that something was wrong. She could feel it deep in her bones, like the warmth was being drawn out of her by some unstoppable force.

"We'll come with you," Ruby finally replied, climbing awkwardly over Weiss before going to their drawers in search of clothing.

"We will?" Weiss asked in shock, suddenly much more awake.

"Yes - come on, Weiss. Hurry up and get dressed."

With an exaggerated sigh, Weiss dragged herself out of bed as their leader directed - complaining all the while, but getting dressed in record time.

"Do we really need our weapons?" she whined while slipping on her shoes and grabbing Myrtenaster from the air when Ruby tossed the weapon towards her.

"I don't know -" Blake shifted impatiently, waiting to leave. "I don't know, but I want to be prepared."

The shrouded figures wouldn't leave her mind - dragging Yang into the sky with their powerful wings…taking Yang away from her...stealing away what was most important to her…

While Ruby laced up her pair of black and red boots, Blake pulled out her scroll and pressed the button to call Yang. Bringing the phone to her ear, she listened to it ring and ring before finally going to voicemail.

'Hey you've reached Yangggg Xiao Long! I'm probably busy making out with my girlfriend right now (Yang!), but leave a message and I'll get back to you - (you're redoing that) - I'm so totally not -"

BEEEEP

"Yang," she said, voice firm and demanding. " _Where_ are you? Call me back as soon as you get this."

Maybe Yang had lost her phone...or broken it...but she wasn't typically clumsy or careless. Those traits had gone almost exclusively to Ruby.

When Blake stored her scroll carefully in one pocket, Ruby and Weiss were finally ready to go - giving Blake matching nods in unison. Relieved that they could finally stop standing around, Blake tore out of the room as fast as she could - her worry showing in the way she rushed through the halls without a care of who might catch them awake at this hour.

In no time at all they were running up the steps of the airship landing and waiting for the next ship to arrive. This late the ships ran infrequently, but thankfully they were only fifteen minutes from the next departure.

Fifteen impossibly long minutes…

As would be expected, Weiss was still quietly grumbling - about how cold it was, about how long they had to wait...anything she could think of, really. Blake paid it no mind, her own thoughts far too focused on her missing partner.

Yang would have called. Blake _knew_ that. And whatever Yang had been planning couldn't possibly have taken this long, otherwise she would have mentioned it when they were parting ways.

"Where did she say she was going?"

Ruby's question broke into Blake's thoughts and drew her gaze back to her team leader - who seemed to have gotten Weiss to calm down by merely holding her hand.

"She said she was going to pick up some cookies for you and would catch the next airship. She might have gone somewhere else, but she said she'd be back in no time," Blake explained, words falling out of her mouth in a hurry.

'In a jif.' That's what Yang had said.

A 'jif' wasn't _hours_ later with _no_ message.

When the airship finally arrived, Blake was on board before the doors had even finished sliding open and claimed the seat nearest to the exit. Now they just needed to wait for it would leave…

Honestly, if downtown Vale wasn't so far away she would have run there. But that would have taken even longer, plus drain her strength. Not knowing what they would be walking into when they got downtown, she wasn't willing to waste a single drop of energy too soon.

Maybe she was just overreacting to a nightmare. Maybe Yang had gotten caught up somewhere and would be back later. Maybe she'd just forgotten to text Blake to let her know.

But Yang wouldn't forget something like that. And it didn't _feel_ like an overreaction. Not from how difficult it was to keep her hands from openly trembling. Not from the way her heart hadn't stopped racing since she'd woken up.

 _Something_ was wrong.

If Ruby and Weiss were nervous, they certainly weren't showing it as the airship finally lifted away from the landing and turned slowly in the sky before heading towards the twinkling lights of Vale's tall skyscrapers. No, they probably weren't nervous. Confused, annoyed, curious, but not nervous.

Around anyone else Blake would have remained as composed as possible in this situation, but it was only Ruby and Weiss with her. With her teammates, she didn't have to remain impassive at all times. They actually didn't like it when she did that, so she made very little attempt to hide her concern from them.

The result was her foot bouncing rapidly up and down the entire way there - the nervous tic reminiscent of Ruby on a big test day. But Blake couldn't stop all of these emotions from coursing through her while her brain jumped from one worst case scenario to the next.

If there was one problem with being an avid reader, it was that she could come up with a nearly infinite number of horrible things that could have happened to Yang.

An uprising on the streets that caught her in the crossfire.

Sudden release of a deadly airborne virus.

Earthquake.

Bombing.

Grimm falling from the skies.

As far as Blake's mind was concerned, _anything_ could have happened.

Several minutes later, a small jolt in the pit of her stomach told her that the airship had begun its descent. The streets outside the window grew closer and closer as the ship lowered to the platform smoothly and docked with a light thump. Before the doors were open she was already out of her seat and waiting.

"This way," she said as soon as the doors opened. Jumping off the airship, she led the way to the address she'd memorized by now. It wasn't very far away, only a couple of blocks.

At this time of night the streets were ghostly empty, filled only by the orangeish glow cast by the streetlamps lining the abandoned roads. The stores in this part of town were closed by now, with all the lights turned out except for those illuminating the front windows.

Clothing stores, toy stores, jewelry stores...and Captain Chip's Cookies.

The bakery had long ago closed, with the display cases in the front window devoid of any and all baked goods for the night. Inside the store she could see another display case running parallel to one wall, this one softly lit with several items visible within. Outside the sidewalk was empty. The entire block was empty. And besides the smell of sugar that seemed to linger in the air, there was nothing else. Nothing was out of the ordinary or out of place.

And there was no trace of Yang.

Clenching one fist in frustration, Blake turned away from the window and bit her bottom lip a little too hard while trying to think of what to do next. What had she expected? That Yang would leave a note saying where she'd gone? That'd she'd miraculously be here waiting for them?

There was nothing - no Yang, no _trace_ of Yang, and not even a single soul around to ask about her whereabouts.

"Well, what now?" Weiss asked, looking cold and unhappy about their current situation.

Turning back to the shop, Blake tried to concentrate - which was becoming increasingly difficult as her composure unraveled from Yang's prolonged absence.

"Guess we wait for her at home?" Ruby suggested softly.

"Or check the clubs nearby…" Weiss muttered under her breath.

Staring at the bakery, Blake could see a reflection of the three of them in the glass - Ruby and Weiss standing close together for warmth while throwing out ideas as to where Yang could have gone next. And Blake, standing off to the side, brow creased in visible concern.

From memory Blake pulled up as much of a map as she could of the area. What was around the corner again? There was that clothing store Yang liked. Across from that was a bank. A few restuarants. Other stores they never went into.

Expanding her search, she thought through all of the stores in the vicinity - wherever Yang went next _had_ to be close. There was a shopping mall nearby, that was always a possibility. But nothing stood out yet.

Shaking her head, Blake tried to stop her frustration from growing. She needed to remain calm and collected in order to think clearly. She needed to get the faceless men out of her thoughts.

Ok, focus. Yang had been planning a surprise, which meant she would have gone there next. It wouldn't have been a personal stop, it would have been a stop with Blake in mind. But where could that be? It was a gift of some sort - which could be anything, really. A wonderfully planned date...Blake's favorite food...a special book…

Her feet spurred to motion that exact instant, knowing exactly where Yang had gone next. It was further away than she would have expected, but not an unmanageable distance. If Yang was determined to get Blake a gift, that's where she would have gone tonight.

"Blake!" Ruby shouted in surprise when the two girls were left behind without notice.

Slowing down ever so slightly, Blake allowed the pair to catch up before picking up the pace substantially. It was only a few minutes before her legs started to burn with exertion - her mind begging her limbs to take her to their destination as quickly as possible. She knew exactly where Yang had gone because they went shopping there all the time - ever since Blake had discovered it their very first semester of school...

' _Hey Blake -'_

' _Yeah?'_

' _You keep looking at that little bookstore - you wanna go in?'_

' _Oh, no, that's ok -'_

' _Hey guys! Blake and I are gonna go check out that store - we'll catch up.'_

' _You really didn't have to come with me...I imagine bookstores aren't really your thing.'_

' _But we're partners! Your_ _things_ are _my things! Uh...only not quite so...possessive-y like that.'_

' _That's actually...very sweet of you. Thank you. I've been wanting to check this place out for forever.'_

The easiest way to completely melt Blake's heart was to personally pick out a special book for her to read, and Yang knew it. Something about the idea of Yang standing in an aisle filled with books...reading the backs of covers in search of one that Blake liked...filled her with irrepressible happiness. And for someone who didn't read that often, Yang had surprisingly good taste.

Knowing that Blake had just started her latest book, Yang had gone to get a new one to replace it in the drawer. This way Blake always had another story to look forward to.

The streets were hardly alive as they flew down them, shoes hitting the pavement in near unison. The few people they did pass either moved out of the way in fear or watched them curiously while they rushed by. As the blocks disappeared under their feet, her ears began picking up the sounds of voices and movement from up ahead - alerting her that there was additional life nearby.

Running around the next corner, she instantly skidded to a stop in surprise. Ruby failed to hit the brakes in time and bumped into Blake's back - sending both of them stumbling forward a few steps before they regained their balance. But when she straightened herself out, the scene in front of her was finally able to sink in.

Vale PD...caution tape...broken glass…the overwhelming smell of ashes...

Dark splotches on the ground that could only be blood. Interspersed with heavy scorch marks.

The crime scene was relatively old by this point, with only two police officers chatting casually on the sidewalk while a team of cleaners worked in the middle of the street within an area sectioned off by bright yellow caution tape. 'Do not cross,' 'Do not cross,' it read over and over again, drawing the attention of a few other curious passersby - from their attire likely leaving a nightclub nearby.

The two buildings on either side of the street - one containing a clothing store and the other her favorite bookstore - were decimated. The front windows had been shattered and parts of the brick foundation were crumbling. Shards of glass were strewn everywhere, some of the pieces larger than her entire arm. Several sections of the road had somehow cracked - chunks of asphalt dislodging themselves from the street they'd once been connected to. And then there was the blood. It was spattered everywhere - on the street, the sidewalk...big pools of it, streaks of it, droplets...

It looked like a bomb had been detonated in the middle of the road.

Before, Blake had been worried, but this...this went beyond worried. Now she was terrified.

Some members of the cleanup crew were taking pictures before collecting garbage in large bags. The way they moved appeared haphazard at best, careless at worst. The police officers seemed to have little interest in what was going on while standing off to the side - one of them blatantly checking his watch before letting out a loud sigh.

Meanwhile her feet were frozen to the ground as she stared, mind racing as she tried to comprehend what could have possibly happened here. All she knew was that there was blood everywhere, it smelled like ashes, and there were scorch marks running all across the road.

Before Blake had found the wherewithal to move a muscle Weiss was striding forward, approaching the officers with a purpose learned through years of being the most important person in the room.

"What happened here?" she demanded of the men.

"Beat it kid," one of them replied, turning back towards his colleague with a snicker. The poor man had no idea that that was just about the worst response he could have given to the sleep deprived heiress of the...universe, basically.

"Excuse me, _Sir_ , but my name is Weiss _Schnee_ and my family happens to own that entire _block_ over there," Weiss clipped, pointing in a direction while grinding one heel into the ground in impatience. "Now, I demand you tell me what happened or the next call I'll be making is to your supervisor for your badge."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Weiss dared the man to respond in any way but the one she wanted.

The officer turned towards his partner, who merely shrugged his shoulders before walking away - obviously not wanting to be involved in this situation any longer.

"Just some street fight," the man finally answered, appearing disinterested in the entire conversation. "Some girl got into it with a big group of thugs, made this mess, and were gone by the time we showed up."

"Do you know where they went?"

"No clue. Like I said - they were gone before we got here."

"How long ago?"

Another shrug.

"Couple hours at least. Gonna take forever to clean this mess up…"

With a nod, Weiss turned away from the man and walked back to them, her expression now openly filled with concern. Blake stood there in shock while Weiss repeated to Ruby what the officer had said - their team leader not able to overhear the conversation from a distance like Blake had. While they whispered, she watched the cleanup crew walk around sweeping glass and bits of asphalt into one large pile to be picked up later.

"It doesn't make sense…" she mused to herself.

"Yeah, the odds hardly seem fair," Ruby added. "Yang versus a group of thugs? She should've been home in no time."

"Do you really think Yang would get in a fight like this?" Blake asked, gesturing towards the damage in front of them.

"Maybe one of them touched her hair…" Weiss suggested, but the way her brow furrowed gave away her hidden doubts while Ruby shook her head.

"There shouldn't be _this_ much damage though. This looks like…"

The three of them turned back to the scene of the fight, thinking the same thing.

This looked like someone fighting for their life.

Pinpricks of water hit Blake's skin as the streetlights illuminated a flurry of specks racing towards the ground. It was misting now - the fine droplets of moisture collecting on her skin and worsening her mood substantially.

Hopefully it didn't start raining...rain was the absolute worst thing that could happen right now. Which meant that it would, seeing how the night was going. Sighing, her ears twitched uncomfortably underneath her dampening bow.

"So...what do we do now?" Weiss asked, her scowl lost and her expression alert.

Training her eyes on the ground, Blake began slowly walking around the perimeter of the police tape while keeping her senses on high alert for anything the officers had missed. What had quickly turned into a light rain would rapidly wash away most clues, but maybe she could find…

Pausing, she stared at the ground between her feet when she caught a glimpse of something. Moving slightly to one side she froze the instant she saw it again. When the light hit this section of street just right, it glistened, but not in the same way the rain glistened.

They were blood drops, nearly invisible on the dark street, but still there. Someone had been bleeding when they'd left the area and they'd left a trail behind.

Starting at that point she searched in slowly expanding circles until she found another one leading away from the scene of destruction.

"Blake!" she heard Ruby call out, but she was already on the next one, taking her away from the street. She heard her teammates' footsteps running to catch up by the time she made it to the sidewalk. These drops were much clearer against the off-white cement. The next two were the same before she was led off the sidewalk and into a narrow corridor that led to an alley.

More blood drops, more trail to follow. Seeing how dismissive the police had been about a street brawl, they probably hadn't even attempted to search the area as thoroughly as they should have.

But the trail led into a wider alleyway behind the clothing store where deliveries must be made. Visibility noticeably diminished as they moved away from the street lights and glow from business windows. Thankfully her low light vision allowed her to make out several more drops and then…

And then nothing. They disappeared. The last one was in the middle of the alley, but she couldn't find another one anywhere. Her eyes scanned and scanned, searching for the next one, but there was nothing. Either the bleeding had stopped here or the person who'd been doing the bleeding had disappeared into thin air.

Tearing her eyes from the ground, she searched the dingy alley for other clues. There was a dumpster overflowing with black garbage bags, filling the air with the putrid smell of rotting food. Puddles of water on the ground showing tiny splashes of rain hitting the surface. Loose asphalt crunching under Weiss and Ruby's feet as they shifted uncertainly.

There was also this tingle of familiarity about the space, but it was nothing Blake could pull to mind. As far as she could remember, she'd never been here before. It was a typical alley. Nothing was differentiating it from any other alley except that a trail of tiny blood drops had led her there. And then nothing. Nothing was visibly out of place. And the air was so rancid she couldn't even tell if there had been any sentient life here in the past few years.

If there had been any clues left at all, they'd been swallowed by the fresh rain and trash.

"It ends here," she mumbled to herself, looking around one more time. She didn't want to give up, but what could they do next?

"Maybe she got hurt, took herself to the hospital, then went home," Weiss suggested. The idea forced Blake to look at the last blood drop and pray it was some goon's and not Yang's. But if, by some chance, it _was_ Yang's, why had she come back here into this alley? She wouldn't have. That wouldn't make any sense.

"Then why hasn't she called?" Blake asked, mind filling with questions.

"You saw that -" Weiss replied, gesturing back towards the street. "I wouldn't be surprised if her scroll is being swept into the garbage in tiny pieces right now. And this is all assuming that it even _was_ Yang. For all we know it was just another group of hooligans who got into a big fight!"

Weiss clearly didn't believe the words she'd just said, evidenced by the wrinkle that still set in her brow. They all knew it was Yang. The scorch marks on the ground couldn't have been anyone else.

But maybe Yang's scroll _had_ broken. That wasn't unlikely. Blake had once watched her partner willingly pull out her scroll and launch it into a thief's face. From the sound it made when it hit his nose and the resulting scream of pain, it was a very effective weapon. So yes, in the midst of a fight, Yang could have broken her scroll. But even without her scroll...

"Why wouldn't she find another way to call me?"

"And worry you?" Weiss scoffed at the idea and shook her head.

The response made Blake think more intently about the situation - something Weiss was very good at getting them to do. She was always their devil's advocate, coming up with ways that events could have happened, and she was doing it again here.

So...Yang gets into a huge fight - that was all they knew and even that wasn't completely certain. During the fight, she breaks her scroll and potentially gets hurt. She goes and gets fixed up, doesn't call Blake so as not to worry her, then heads home.

The scenario made a lot of sense, but did nothing to quell the unease sitting in Blake's chest. It also didn't explain why the fight had happened in the first place. Although, knowing Yang, the fight might not have been about her, but she stepped in to stop it. Yang would be the last person to stand idly by while people were in trouble.

Weiss must have read Blake's uncertainty because she added, "My family donates to all three of Vale's hospitals. I can call them on the way back and see if she's been there."

When Weiss gave Blake a reassuring smile, she took one last look around the alley that had turned out to be nothing more than a dead end. Weiss' plan was better than standing here in the rain doing nothing. They needed to regroup and figure out what to do next. And _if_ Yang was back at Beacon, they needed to head there first.

Nodding in agreement, the three of them trudged out of the alley and passed the battleground once more. The sight made Blake's stomach turn in unease as she imagined the fight that had happened here. How many combatants? Had it been several groups or every man for themselves? Had they been armed?

The scorch marks were the most alarming part. She knew her partner and she knew that in order for these marks to happen...for that much power to be expended...there would be a good reason.

"Why do you donate to all three hospitals?" Ruby asked curiously while they made their way back to the airship station at a brisk walk.

"Because we have a lot of money and 'you never know when or where you'll need medical care,'" Weiss responded, clearly quoting someone else's words from the way she waved one finger through the air.

Trailing behind the pair, Blake listened closely while Weiss called each hospital, her hope naively building only to be dashed each time.

'Sorry, ma'am. No one by the name has been here -'

'I'm terribly sorry, Miss Schnee, but we have no records of -'

'We haven't helped anyone matching that description -'

When Weiss ended the call with the last hospital none of them said a word. They'd reached the airship landing and trudged up the steps without a sound - her teammates likely now sharing in part of Blake's utter hopelessness.

They needed to get back to Beacon. They needed to see if Yang had somehow found her way back on her own. If not, they could get help there.

Waiting quietly on a bench for the next ship back to Beacon, Blake pulled out her scroll and called Yang again. When the call went to voicemail she hung up without leaving a message. Defeated - that's what she was right now. If Yang wasn't back at the room waiting for them…

One thing at a time. Make it back first, then decide what to do next.

They waited for quite some time before the proper airship finally arrived at the station. Following her two teammates through the doors, she flopped into the first empty seat and closed her eyes in an effort to remain calm. But with her eyes closed, she could see Yang so clearly...standing on the airship platform waiting for her.

' _Hey there, Kitten!'_

' _...Kitten?'_

' _Oh, yeah! I thought I'd try it out as your nickname - whatdya think?'_

' _Uh...why that nickname?'_

' _Because! You're absolutely adorable - like a little kitten!'_

' _Excuse me?'_

' _And even if sometimes you accidentally scratch, it doesn't change the fact that you're just a cute little ball of fluff that loves curling up in warm places!'_

' _...'_

' _You hate it, don't you? Sorry...I just thought it'd be a cool partner thing we could do and all -'_

' _Ok.'_

' _Ok?'_

' _Ok, you can call me that. But ONLY you.'_

'Love you too, Kitten,' Yang had said...right before Blake had left her standing there alone. Yang had needed help...and Blake had been nowhere to be found.

She wasn't naive enough to believe that everything would turn out ok merely because it had to. Sometimes bad things happened for no reason. Sometimes good people were lost for no reason.

But if something bad had happened to Yang, she would never be able to forgive herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. I realized that I should have explained that this isn't an AU so much, but it is assuming that the events at the battle at Beacon never happened. I hope that clears things up!**

 **Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. You've provided really great feedback!**

* * *

The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon by the time they made it back to Beacon, adding a touch of light to what had been a dark, dark night. In unspoken agreement they'd rushed back to their room as soon as they'd set foot off the airship, but never had Beacon's green lawns and avenues felt so long. The dorms were silent as all but the most nocturnal of students were still fast asleep. The sound of their footsteps taking long strides through the hallways did nothing to preserve the peace, but nothing to disturb the quiet beyond closed doors either.

Turning into their hall, Blake felt a small ray of hope beginning to build in her chest. Ruby already had the room keys jingling in her hand as their door appeared up ahead. In a few seconds they slowed to a stop and allowed their leader to unlock the door and push it open.

Whatever hope Blake had foolishly allowed to build was immediately dashed to despair.

The room was just as they'd left it. Her blankets were still lying in a heap on the floor. Weiss' bed was unmade and unkempt. It was still empty - still conspicuously absent of a certain bombastic blonde.

For what was likely the fiftieth time Blake dialed Yang's scroll...only to be met with the same voicemail message yet again. Sighing, she tossed the device on top of her bed before sitting down beside it and burying her face in her hands. She heard Ruby and Weiss sit down across from her, the two girls having remained silent for their entire jog back from Beacon's airship landing.

"Where is she…" Blake asked no one in particular, hoping that maybe the walls held her answer. No trace here. No trace at the hospitals. No trace anywhere. How had Yang just disappeared?

The most disturbing part of this was that it wasn't like Yang to get into a fight, especially not one of that magnitude. People might see her as a brawler and make assumptions...Blake had certainly made some of her own when they'd first met...but, even if Yang did enjoy a good fist fight every once in awhile, there was an underlying river of restraint that prevented such wanton violence. It certainly hadn't always been there, but Yang had learned how to control her fiery tendencies while training at Beacon - how to keep her emotions in check and funnel that energy into more positive results. It was this depth and commitment to self restraint that had first impressed Blake, cluing her in that there was much more to Yang than met the eye.

So no, Yang wouldn't have provoked the fight, but she would have jumped in to stop it. Or she could have been dragged into it...

Even more upsetting than the fight, it wasn't like Yang to just disappear. Especially without letting Blake know - sending a message or...something. Anything. Yang wouldn't want to cause Blake any unnecessary worry, not even for the sake of a surprise. And she was definitely worrying right now. On the verge of true panic.

Deep in her heart she'd always been afraid something like this would happen...that she would somehow find herself separated from Yang. It was a fear that had grown larger and larger the closer they'd become. It was why she'd tried _not_ to admit her feelings for so long - in order to prevent this from happening. She never wanted to be in the position where she could lose someone she loved so deeply, yet here she was.

If Yang sent a message, even one as simple as 'be back tomorrow,' Blake would be immediately relieved. Then she would at least know that this was a planned absence...although she would wonder where in Remnant Yang was planning to spend the night. But the longer the silence extended, the more Blake knew that that wasn't the case. This wasn't planned - and that knowledge shook her to her very core.

What could have happened?

"Blake."

Ruby's soft voice drew her eyes up to find silver eyes watching her closely.

"Did anything... _strange_ happen last night?" Ruby asked, fidgeting slightly as her own scroll was grasped in one hand like a lifeline. "Like, I dunno, anything unusual?"

Blake's instinctual answer was to shake her head, but she still paused to replay the evening again. Her mind raced while jumping from thought to thought, trying to land upon something that might explain why her night had suddenly turned from a cute date with her girlfriend to searching for a missing person who seemed to have vanished from the face of the planet.

Had she missed something? Something out of ordinary? Anything suspicious that had slipped past unnoticed?

Ruby and Weiss both waited patiently for a response, with only Ruby's uncontained fidgets drawing attention away from tired and anxious eyes.

The night had been _normal_ though. They'd left Beacon in the early afternoon on an airship filled with other students getting away from school for the evening. They'd landed, walked around window shopping and talked about anything and everything. Then they'd gone to dinner...fancy restaurant...and ordered remarkable food. Their waiter had been exceptionally funny, but also exceptionally gay - meaning that, for once, they'd spent an entire meal _not_ being hit on by their server. There had been lots of talking, laughing, and running up Weiss' bill. After leaving the restaurant they'd gone for a walk through the park and -

"There were these boys -" Blake suddenly said, speaking before her own mind had fully digested the thought.

"What boys?" Weiss immediately asked. "What did they do?"

Shaking her head to quiet Weiss' questions, Blake tried to remember the boys from the park.

"There was…we were walking through a park and they were staring," Blake stumbled through the response. The first had been...human, right? And then two Faunus. What kind of Faunus had they even been? Their clothing had obscured any distinguishing animal features.

"Did you recognize them?" Weiss pressed. "Maybe from school?"

Unable to remember their faces clearly, Blake clenched her fists in frustration.

"I can't remember. But they were just looking at her! People stare at her all the time…"

Could they have had something to do with this? Maybe they'd followed Blake and Yang to the airship and then trailed Yang to the bookstore before trying to attack her...or worse.

Feeling her skin crawl in repulsion and horror, Blake let out a shaky sigh while running one hand through her hair in a habit almost certainly picked up from Yang.

"That's the only thing?" Ruby prodded quietly.

"I don't _know_. I'm sorry, I just don't - there was nothing out of place! It was _normal!_ The entire night was normal!" Her voice rose in distress that wasn't meant to target her teammates, but she hadn't felt _anything_ out of place. There was nothing. Nothing. It was just like that damn empty alley where the trail had disappeared.

Right now, she was struggling to prevent herself from doing something extraordinarily rash all while berating herself for having left in the first place. She should've _never_ let Yang go back alone. What had she been thinking?

...she'd been thinking that Yang was plenty capable of taking care of herself. She didn't need to be coddled anymore than Blake did. And she would probably enjoy the feeling just as much as Blake would...meaning not at all.

Blake had grown accustomed to watching Yang dismantle full grown Ursa by herself while hardly breaking a sweat - those two scrawny Faunus in the park wouldn't have stood a chance if they'd tried to do anything. They'd need a small army to take Yang down _even if_ she didn't have Ember Celica with her.

But then _what?_ What happened? Yang was nearly impossible to beat in a fight, so why wasn't she home by now?

"Could they have followed you?"

"Of course they could have," Blake snapped back at Weiss' question.

"But you would've noticed that," Ruby added, unceasingly confident in Blake's abilities.

Would she have noticed though? She'd been together with Yang; her guard had been down. She'd felt _safe_. She'd felt _secure_. A talented sleuth could have followed without her noticing, but was that what had happened? Who would do that? And why?

"I don't know," she mumbled in reply before scooting backwards on her bed and pulling her knees up to her chest.

"Blake, we'll figure this out." Ruby threw the encouragement out like a life preserver, but Blake refused to grab hold of it. Instead she turned towards the dorm room door with her scroll resting right where she could see it if it lit up with an incoming message. As Blake withdrew into her own mind to try to figure out what she'd missed, she heard Ruby sigh.

They were trying to help, but the situation was making her feel helpless. And she hated feeling helpless. They were dependent on Yang sending them a message in order to know where she was. What was their other option? The city was massive - searching even a small section thoroughly could take days. If Yang had been hurt, she would have taken herself to the hospital. If Yang hadn't been hurt, she would have come home. Something had prevented her from doing either of those things. The more Blake's mind came back to that thought, the more worried she grew.

The room had already grown brighter as the sun stubbornly rose in the sky behind her. The rays filtering through their dorm room window warmed the air and shifted night firmly behind them. From the sounds of students passing by their door, she knew breakfast would begin soon with classes commencing soon after, but she had absolutely no intention of attending either today without Yang by her side.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Weiss wrap an arm around Ruby's shoulders and pull them closer together for comfort.

"Why don't you try calling her again?" Weiss suggested softly.

"I've already tried like a billion times…" Ruby mumbled in return.

"Then let's try to find a video from the park," Weiss proposed next. "Maybe they have one of those live feeds…"

The suggestion drew Blake's attention away from the door, snapping back to Weiss as they looked down at Ruby's scroll.

The fight. That was the place to start. That would be the easiest answer to solve. Who had Yang gotten into a fight with? Over what? There _had_ to be surveillance cameras in that area especially because, if she remembered correctly, there was a nightclub at the far end of the street. 'Seedy place,' Yang had called it, but if they could somehow find video evidence they could figure out who had been involved and, more importantly, what had happened next.

Since any business was unlikely to hand over their video tapes to a couple of students, this would probably require a little breaking and entering. But that was a sacrifice Blake was willing to make at the moment.

They also needed to alert Professor Ozpin. He might have the means or sources to track Yang down faster than they could. Plus, Blake trusted him to actually care about Yang's disappearance, unlike the police. A known party girl goes missing for one night? No officer would take it seriously until she was gone for several days.

This was a start. First, find Professor Ozpin. Next, find out who had been involved in this street brawl.

Having a plan instantly made her feel better. Doing nothing wasn't an option anymore. They needed to be out there figuring out what had happened.

"Weiss," she called out, drawing both of her teammates' eyes in surprise. "That's a good idea. We need to find videos, but of the fight."

"To see what happened and where they went!" Ruby immediately replied, nodding her head enthusiastically.

"Because that's the last place we know, or at least suspect, Yang to have been," Weiss concluded with a curt nod of her own. "And I'm guessing you have an idea as to how we can find these videos?"

"You two just need to watch my back," Blake answered. Both Weiss and Ruby knew exactly what that meant, but didn't utter a single complaint today.

Satisfied with their course of action, she was scooting out of bed right as her scroll began to ring - causing her to jump in surprise at the unexpected and loud noise. The second Yang's picture popped up on the screen Blake scrambled to answer the video call, relief washing over her as she held the scroll out in front of her and answered.

"Yan -!"

The name caught in her throat, strangled from existence when she suddenly found herself staring at a face she never thought she'd see again. One she'd never _wanted_ to see again.

"You."

The word came out through clenched teeth, more of a growl than anything else.

"Glad to see you haven't lost that warm, welcoming demeanor of yours."

Ruby and Weiss both widened their eyes in surprise, staring at Blake from the other side of the room.

"What do you want," she demanded, not allowing her eyes to leave the screen, her pulse racing as the worst possible situation had suddenly materialized.

"What a way to greet your old partner," he replied with a leer. "Not even a 'Hey Adam, how have you been? Glad to see you weren't _killed_ on that train I _abandoned_ you on.'"

" _What_ do you want?" she repeated in a low snarl. He almost looked disappointed by her lack of friendliness, but she could care less right now.

"Guess we'll cut to the chase. You took something that didn't belong to you - I want it back."

Thankfully, she was able to keep her hand steady - preventing him from seeing just how much she was shaken by his sudden reappearance in her life. But her heart was beating erratically now, unable to believe the words he was saying.

"To ensure your...cooperation... _I_ took something of _yours_. And I'll give it back, but only when you've brought me what I want."

Fear might have been the most appropriate reaction under the circumstances, but instead she felt something familiar clawing within her soul - a part of her she'd thought she'd left behind when she'd come to Beacon.

"I want to see her." Her voice came out cold and detached while she tried to distance her heart from the situation - to remain emotionless. But the second Adam laughed any thought of remaining emotionless flew right out the window - replaced by searing hot anger.

"We had to drug her so she'd stop beating the shit out of these imbeciles," he explained, the video following him while he walked through a doorway into another large, nondescript room. Someone else must be holding the scroll because he walked freely away from the screen towards…

Yang.

Clenching one fist, Blake bit her lip to prevent herself from screaming in fury as Adam proved that he'd taken the most important thing in her life. Strapped to a metal chair, bound by the largest, thickest shackles Blake had ever seen, was Yang. She appeared to be unconscious right now, head drooped to one side while her hair hung in front of her face. Her knuckles were cracked and bloody. Her clothes were spattered with blood, but there were no obvious wounds to suggest that any of it was her own.

Unafraid of the sleeping beast, Adam walked calmly over to Yang while the camera followed. When he reached the chair, he slapped Yang across the face to wake her before grabbing her cheeks far too harshly. Blake heard a hiss of anger leave her lips while her blood boiled - hatred unlike anything she'd ever felt igniting in her chest. If she could reach through the scroll and strangle him right then and there, she would without hesitation.

"Blondie," Adam snapped while forcing Yang's eyes towards the camera. "Say 'hello' to Blake for me."

Yang's eyes were blood red - one nearly swollen shut and colored in black and blue. Besides the black eye there was a cut running across the bridge of her nose and another dipping below her jaw, but otherwise she seemed relatively unharmed. Most importantly, she was alive.

"Yang…" Blake said, voice shaky but tone softening as if only her partner could hear her. "Don't worry, I'm going to come get you, ok?"

Yang's lips twitched upward, but her eyelids were already drifting shut under the weight of whatever drug they'd given her.

"Wasn't...worried…" came the quiet mumble before Adam released her face and the camera turned away.

"I'm going to kill you," Blake spat at the smirking man she'd once considered a friend.

And she meant it. She could already imagine drawing Gambol Shroud across his neck...blood spilling on the ground while he clung to his miserable life. She'd make sure it was painful. She'd make sure he suffered - using the very techniques he'd tried to force her to use years ago.

But he merely laughed in reply, unphased by her threat.

"I'd love to see you try," he responded dismissively before resuming a serious tone. "What you _are_ going to do is bring me what you stole when you left. I know you hid it away somewhere, so I'll give you ten hours to get it. And don't even try to contact anyone - I'll know as soon as you've turned your scroll on."

Scowling at him, fist clenched tightly like she might actually get the chance to slam it into his jaw, she didn't bother responding.

"Oh, and I almost forgot. To make sure you _behave_ , I got you a little present. It should have been delivered by now - why don't you check outside your door?"

Blake still didn't move, content to send daggers at Adam while Ruby and Weiss carefully opened their dorm room door and brought in a small box that had been lying on the floor in the hall. Adam's grin was only widening while Ruby hesitantly opened the box and Blake's eyes flitted over to see what was inside.

Malice poured into her veins when Ruby gently removed the contents and held it up for Blake to fully see.

"I hope you like it," Adam added with a sneer. "Sorry, they didn't have black."

Ruby and Weiss both looked at Blake with equal expressions of helplessness and concern while she ground her teeth together in white hot anger.

It was a collar. A bright purple collar with fake white rhinestones glued to the outside.

"She's not wearing this, you vagrant," Weiss finally seethed, making Adam tilt his head in curiosity at the voice appearing from offscreen.

"I'm guessing that was...Weiss, is it? Interesting...I would've thought the Schnee would be used to putting collars on Faunus by now…"

When Weiss' jaw audibly snapped shut in anger, Blake shook her head before her teammate could say anything else. Her own cheeks were burning in rage and humiliation as she looked at the piece of material Ruby was still holding.

"Wear it, or you can watch me kill her right now," Adam added, not a drop of sick humor remaining in his voice.

He _knew_ she would do it. He'd left her no choice.

"Give it to me," she said, motioning with one hand to Ruby while handing her scroll over to Weiss. Taking the purple band from Ruby's hands, Blake felt deliberately around the edges for anything out of place. There was a small contraption in the front which was probably a hidden camera and other monitoring device, but other than that it felt normal.

Gritting her teeth and swallowing her pride, she raised the collar and clipped it into place around her neck. It was hellaciously uncomfortable and pressed against her throat whenever she swallowed. And the very thought of wearing such a demeaning symbol of possession made her burn with untamable fury.

"Good _kitty_ ," Adam taunted her. "Now shouldn't you be going?"

With that, the call cut off and the screen flipped back to lifeless black.

Her chest was heaving, breaths heavy as anger struggled to be vented from her veins. Clutching her scroll in one fist far too tightly, she resisted the urge to throw it onto the ground and crush it under the heel of one boot. She shoved it into her pocket instead, understanding that she would need it later.

Adam. That fucking bastard.

Now she realized what she'd forgotten. The alley. The sudden end to the trail. It had been a high value target grab. There would've been multiple vehicles stashed in at least four different spots, hidden from view. Each would have carried _at least_ fifteen White Fang members, probably dressed incognito to avoid police attention - the hoodies and concealed animal features. Find the target, surround, flood the streets, take them down, everyone back to the vehicles with one specified for the target. Drive off before the authorities show up. That's why the trail had gone cold - there had been a vehicle waiting in the alley. It had all been planned. It had all been premeditated.

There was no time to scold herself for missing that now. The damage had already been done. Adam already had Yang. If the opportunity hadn't come up last night, it could have been next week, next month, next year. He would have waited and struck when he was given the chance.

Finding that she'd begun pacing back and forth in front of her bed, she looked up to find Weiss and Ruby staring at her. Mind racing too quickly to acknowledge her teammates right now, she turned away and pulled at the disgrace tightening around her neck.

He was making a statement that he owned her. Like a pet. She had to do what he said.

But it had been placed right outside their door, and only after they'd gotten back from downtown. He'd known exactly where she lived, but for how long? How long had he been watching her? Gathering information, figuring out her schedule, her patterns...Yang. He knew about her and Yang. He'd watched the weakness develop and grow, knowing that the longer he waited the more pain and anger it would cause when he finally struck.

How could she have been so naive? Why had she thought for a second that she was safe here? That she'd escaped that life?

Quickly glancing at Ruby, Blake immediately turned away. She didn't want Adam looking at her teammates and the collar had to have a camera in it so he could make sure she didn't try to alert the police or their professors. She would be forced to cooperate, like a dog.

No. She wouldn't let him win like this. She wasn't his to control. This was her life and she owed him nothing.

Grinding her teeth, she shook her head and glanced at Weiss, who gave a tense smile in return. It was a reassuring gesture nonetheless because Weiss' last name made her acceptance important to Blake. And Ruby...when she looked at Ruby she only saw the little mannerisms shared with Yang. It made Blake's heart ache knowing that it was _her_ actions, _her_ past, that had put Ruby's sister in danger.

She would make this right.

Ten hours...it wasn't a lot of time, but if she left right now she'd be able to make it there and back with enough time left to come up with a plan.

Moving to her dresser, she picked up Gambol and tapped the weapon lightly against the palm of her hand. Still dressed in her combat clothing, she didn't need to change again. Was there anything else she needed?

"We need to tell Professor Ozpin," she overheard Weiss whisper almost silently to Ruby behind her back. "Now."

"No," Blake replied forcefully, not even looking at them while still trying to figure out what she might need to bring with her. "He'll kill her."

Yang's only value to Adam was what Blake was willing to do to get her back. If he felt threatened or angered in any way, he wouldn't hesitate to end this immediately. There was no way Blake was willing to risk disobeying the one stipulation he'd made clear upfront because he _would_ do it. If anything, he'd end Yang's life for the mere satisfaction of getting back at Blake for what she'd done.

What he'd shown them was only the tip of the iceberg. While this plot had only been affecting them for the past few hours, he could have spent months planning every little detail and coming up with contingencies to any action she took. That's what made it so hard to out think him - he'd already taken into consideration any possible counterattack Blake might make. It left her with no choice but to do what he wanted. She had to figure out a way out of his trap while walking directly into it.

"Then what do we do?" Weiss asked in exasperation.

" _We_ do nothing. _I_ need to go."

As soon as she hung Gambol Shroud on her back, the weapon's presence worked wonders in calming her distress. The two constants she'd had during the most turbulent period of her life...Adam and Gambol. At least one of them hadn't turned into a walking sociopath.

"If I'm not back in ten hours, go to Professor Ozpin right away," she instructed while making her way to the door.

If she wasn't back in ten hours, she was probably already dead.

Reaching for the door handle, her hand was suddenly knocked away and Ruby was left in its place - blocking the exit while rose petals drifted slowly to the ground.

"Get out of the way, Ruby."

Her tone was harsh, but she didn't care. She didn't have time for this.

But Ruby refused to budge.

"Yang is _my_ sister," she stated forcefully, silver eyes glinting with resolve. "She's _our_ teammate. _You're_ our teammate. So if you think we're just gonna let you walk out of here alone, you've got another think coming!"

The firmness in Ruby's tone was surprising - surprising enough to make Blake pause and turn back to Weiss. Weiss was standing in the middle of the room now, arms crossed over her chest with her brow furrowed.

"He already knows Ruby and I overheard," Weiss revealed slowly, her brow furrowing even deeper as the realization sunk in. "If we stay here, he'll think we're going for help."

When Weiss nodded towards the collar around Blake's neck, she cursed under her breath. Weiss was right. As much as Blake didn't want to drag her teammates into this any further than they already were, they had to come with her.

"Get ready. We're going into the forest."

Ruby wasted no time blazing back to the dressers, but Weiss' eyes widened in shock.

"The forest?" she repeated, numbly accepting Myrtenaster when Ruby pressed the weapon into her hands. "As in the _one_ place we've been expressly forbidden to go."

"Yeah, well, we don't have another option right now," Blake replied with a frown.

Going into the forest without permission was grounds for expulsion - Professor Goodwitch had made that extremely clear during their first year. There were good reasons why the rule was so strict since the forest was exceptionally dangerous. Venturing in alone...being expelled should be the least of one's worries. As huntsmen-in-training, they were only allowed in the forest when chaperoned by an official huntsmen or while being actively monitored by one. But that's where they needed to go and getting a chaperone wasn't exactly an option right now.

When Ruby and Weiss were finally ready, Blake opened the door and rushed out into the hall - running straight into Nora Valkyrie.

"Excuse me," Blake said on autopilot, quickly turning to make her way out of the building.

"Hey Team...RWB!" Nora greeted them happily. "Why're you dressed like that?"

"Sorry Nora, really important - tell ya later!" Ruby yelled while they sprinted away, leaving the baffled girl behind.

"But I wanna know nowwww," Blake heard Nora whine as they raced around the corner towards the exit.

The entire school was up by this point, with students running to and fro trying to make it to breakfast or class on time. Thankfully, the normal early-morning commotion was perfect cover as they made their way outside. Leading her teammates towards the classrooms on the outer edge of Beacon's grounds, they blended in with another group of students before slipping away at the last possible second. Cutting through a group of thick hedges, she broke into a sprint as soon as she was on the other side. This was the most visible part of their escape, where they needed to cross a vast expanse of open grass before making it to the edge of the forest.

"Are you going to tell us where we're going? And _what_ we're trying to get?" Weiss shouted from beside her while the three of them tore away from Beacon.

"I stole something. Something that didn't belong to me."

"What was it? A weapon? Money?" Ruby asked, hardly breaking a sweat while matching Blake's pace.

"No...something much more powerful than that."

"What's more powerful than a weapon?"

"Information," Weiss answered, already smart enough to have figured that out.

Successfully reaching the edge of the forest, Blake slowed their pace and nodded. This would be as good a place as any to explain the situation as briefly as possible before they continued.

"Information. An entire database compiled by the White Fang through various shadow organizations. It covered businesses across Remnant - trade secrets, bank accounts, under the table agreements...anything that could be used for extortion. They couldn't figure out how they wanted to use it - who to extort and for what. The night before Adam and I set out to raid one of…" she paused and cast a quick glance towards Weiss, who merely nodded in silent understanding of what would go unsaid, before continuing. "To raid a transport...I finally realized something that I'd been trying to ignore for a long time - that he was a monster, and I needed to get ready to leave."

Shaking her head, to this day she could clearly remember the sense of betrayal she'd felt when she'd heard more names - innocent victims whose lives had been needlessly lost. Lives he'd promised to save.

"It was the last straw." Her voice was filled with anger, knowing very well that Adam could be listening to this entire conversation. "I stole the information that night. Broke in, made a copy for myself, and deleted the main file. I knew that if I left they might come after me and if they captured me I'd need something for leverage. So I hid it. Nothing happened, but if he's after it now…"

Her mind immediately recalled the image of Yang's bruised face, causing her to clench her fists in rage.

By now most of the information must be outdated and useless. It couldn't actually be important. Plus, since she'd left, the White Fang as a whole had swung violently from information to intimidation. Extortion was no longer their method of operation - violence was.

No, the actual information wasn't important. This was all part of Adam's plan. Setting up hoops for her to jump through, watching her struggle to meet his arbitrary deadlines, reveling in the suffering he was causing her. This was all an elaborate game of revenge.

But it was his game. Until she could figure out a plan of her own she would be forced to play by his rules. Which meant risking her and her teammates' lives traipsing through the forest without supervision or support.

"And you hid it in _there_?" Ruby asked incredulously, pointing into the forest from the tree line.

After arriving at Beacon, one of Blake's first tasks had been to hide the small flash drive deep in the forest. The last thing she'd wanted was to be caught with it in her possession during the course of her studies. It would've been highly unlikely anyone would have found it in the false compartment in her luggage, but sometimes accidents happened that revealed the unexpected. And nothing screamed 'ex-criminal' like having an entire database of confidential information on reputable businesses lying around.

He must have known that she would hide it somewhere no one would ever find it and, therefore, somewhere dangerous. The idea that he could predict what she would do made her clench her teeth in anger. Not only was it irritating on a personal level, but it meant he was already several moves ahead of her.

She was playing catch up in a game to save Yang's life.

"Somewhere only I could ever find it…" she whispered, shaking her head to rid herself of the remorse this location still elicited. It had been so long since she'd been here...at the very edge of the school grounds, on the very barrier between safety and danger. The last time she was here she'd been responding to Yang's request that they meet after class.

" _Hey Blake...I asked you to meet me out here because…"_

" _You aren't planning on going in there, are you?"_

" _What? Oh! No, of course not! I just...wanted to talk to you somewhere no one would eavesdrop."_

" _Eavesdrop? About what?"_

" _Um...about...well I wanted to tell you that...I like you."_

" _I like you too, Yan-"_

" _No, I mean, I_ like _you, like you. L-like...the way Ruby likes Weiss."_

" _Oh…"_

" _D-don't worry! I just wanted you to know. This won't change anything; I just...needed to get that off my chest."_

That day, Blake had hesitated. Inaction had been safer than action. Standing still had been more comfortable than moving forward.

But today she wouldn't hesitate. Even with the trees towering above them, hiding unspeakable evils and dangers lurking within. Even with overwhelming odds stacked against them. Even with the clock ticking, her heart beating, animosity surging through her veins...she wouldn't hesitate. She would do whatever it took to bring Yang back - or die trying.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the trees, eyes immediately adjusting to the reduced light when the sun was blocked by the dense leaves above her head. Hearing her teammates enter the forest behind her, she clenched her fists tightly and set off on the path she'd burned into her memory long ago.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! I'm going out of town this weekend, so stayed up late to get this chapter out early! Enjoy!**

* * *

Trying to keep noise to a minimum to avoid any unwanted surprises, progress was painstakingly slow. And even so they were too loud - making far too much noise. Blake was doing her best to pick out the best paths to take, but Ruby and Weiss were inevitably stumbling over logs or snapping branches in her wake. Each tiny sound of a twig breaking in half shot through Blake's nerves and echoed far too loudly in the quiet of the forest.

At this pace it was going to take far longer to reach Blake's hiding place than she'd originally calculated, but moving any faster would risk drawing Grimm their way. The last thing they wanted was to get into a battle all the way out here by themselves where the noise would only attract more Grimm to the area. And the deeper they traveled into the forest the more concentrated the Grimm would become…

This was why she should have gone alone - she'd known that back at the room. By herself, she could have moved at double the pace with half the amount of noise. That option had been taken from her, but...it was also nice to have the company...to not be alone when it felt like her world was collapsing in around her.

Conversation had died long ago - left at the very edge of the forest. The lack of words allowed Blake to keep her ears tuned for any sounds outside of the ones her teammates were making, hoping that she'd be able to sense a Grimm before it sensed them. Several times already her heart had jumped into her throat when she heard some sort of great beast lumbering nearby - crushing plants beneath its claws or growling in hunger. Ursa, most likely, prowling around the forest in search of food...or an unwitting huntress-in-training to snack on.

Thankfully, they'd been able to navigate around the creatures and avoid detection thus far, but there were a couple of instances where Blake was certain they were no more than a few yards away from a foraging Grimm.

While her heart beat rapidly trying to keep them safe, her mind was also racing - trying to plan one, two, three steps ahead of where they were now. They would get to the cave where Blake had hidden the tiny chip containing the information. She would go in _alone_ \- there would be no budging on that. They'd head back to Beacon and wait for Adam to contact them again. Unfortunately, that was as far as she could plan because Adam was, smartly, withholding information so she couldn't strategize further.

However, she _could_ continue to slowly and intricately imagine his demise while maintaining her smoldering rage for what he was doing. Never - _never_ had she thought she would see him again. When she'd left him on that train, she'd figured that would be it. But this...personally coming after her...intentionally trying to hurt her, to cause her emotional harm…

He probably thought that she _owed_ him something, but she certainly didn't feel that way. They'd saved each other's lives more times than she could count. And while Adam might be a strong fighter, he'd needed her just as much as she had initially needed him. There were only so many instances where breaking down the front door would work. Sometimes a little more...finesse...was necessary. It was only after they'd begun working together that he'd started rising through the ranks of the White Fang - his natural leadership abilities finally being paid attention to. He'd helped train her, but she'd helped create the man he was today - for better or worse.

Holding up a hand for her teammates to stop, she glanced up and swiftly scaled the closest tree - legs propelling herself from branch to branch until she was ascending out of the low light of the forest floor and into the bright canopy of leaves. Eyes scanning the surroundings, she immediately found what she was searching for - a large mountain of rock rising above the treetops several miles away from them.

Satisfied that they were still on course, she swung rapidly to the ground, hands hardly grasping each branch before she released to fall down to the next level. Dropping the last twenty feet or so, she landed in a crouch - making no more noise than a slight rustle when several leaves blew away from her feet.

She'd once tried to teach Yang how to land silently, using the balls of her feet to cushion the fall…

" _The_ very _top of your feet, Yang."_

" _I...that's what I did!"_

" _Then why did it sound like a meteor just landed next door?"_

" _Hey! It wasn't that loud!"_

" _I guess I never asked, but do you keep bricks in the bottoms of your boots?"_

" _Pfft - Blake!"_

" _Or maybe weights sewn into your leggings? Or maybe - ...eh nevermind."_

" _...oh my god - you were going to make a boob joke!"_

" _I was not!"_

" _Then why are you blushingggg?"_

" _Ok, practice over. You're destined to be loud forever."_

" _Aww Blakeeee come onnn!"_

But that had ended up being an epic failure, one which she'd never attempted again. Her Faunus heritage could have a lot to do with her stealthy capabilities, so maybe it had been a little unfair to expect someone as...heavy handed...as Yang to be able to pick it up perfectly.

Nodding her head in the direction they needed to go, she set off again with Weiss and Ruby in tow.

It took the better part of the next half hour before the trees began to grow further and further apart. The ground became rockier at the same time with bigger and bigger boulders popping up every few yards. While visibility increased, so too did the danger. Now they no longer needed to worry merely about being _heard_ by a Grimm, but being spotted by one as well.

Casting a glance skyward, she searched for Nevermores - not wanting to give one the opportunity to swoop down as soon as they stepped out of the cover the trees were providing for them. Finding nothing but blue skies up ahead, she turned her eyes to the towering mountain of rock directly in front of them. It was jagged and imposing, as if the very rock served as the spines of a long slumbering Grimm lodged in the ground. The gray stone was shadowed in many areas, hinting at crevices and caves running throughout the giant ridge.

Someone could easily get lost exploring the area, but luckily she could already see exactly where they needed to go. The cave she'd picked wasn't ground level, but wasn't exceptionally high either. In fact, it wasn't difficult to get to the cave at all.

Trotting across the open expanse of flat ground before reaching the first outcroppings, she stopped behind a cluster of tall rocks that would serve as a good hiding space.

"You two wait here," she instructed, tearing her eyes away from her destination to give her teammates a pointed look. As expected, both girls opened their mouths to complain, but she silenced them with a shake of her head.

"This shouldn't take too long, just...don't make any noise," she said before pulling herself up onto the next level of rocky mountain and leaving the pair below.

Silence was the key to their survival right now…

After climbing up one more level, she crouched down to listen for any movement or noises coming from within the wide mouthed cavern lying in front of her. Thankfully, there was nothing. Nothing but the eerily cold breeze emitting from the dark space.

Her heart was beating loudly while she took deep breaths to remain calm and focused. Only when she was positive in her ability to remain silent did she creep towards the opening, slowly placing one foot in front of the other while passing from the relative safety of outside into the treacherous cave.

Several feet inside the doorway, right where the sunlight faded to darkness, there was a sudden ten foot drop-off. Unsuspecting explorers would surely not see it if they weren't blessed with Blake's level of low-light vision, and falling off that ledge would almost certainly be a fatal mistake. Standing right upon the edge, her eyes swept over the interior of the cave and found it exactly as she'd left it.

It was largely circular in shape and as big as Beacon's main auditorium with ceilings that reached nearly as high. The only entrance or exit was the one she'd just used, which would be nearly impossible to find once she dropped to the level below. And, as if fumbling around in a dark cave wasn't hazardous enough to one's health, the cavern floor below her feet was filled with Deathstalkers.

Dozens of them.

The beasts were currently sleeping - or whatever they did when not actively awake. Their red eyes were void of color and their stingers were a dull yellow in this powered down state, but that did nothing to make them any less terrifying.

Peering over the ledge, she found one directly beneath her feet and stepped quickly away. If she had jumped down from there, she would've landed squarely on its back. Moving to the left where the descent was clear, she took one silent, deep breath and hopped off the ledge to the rocky floor below.

Normally, she didn't focus when using her stealth capabilities, qualities that came naturally more often than not, but...this situation was a little too risky to do that.

Seriously, what had she been thinking hiding that chip in here? On the very back wall, too? Apparently, she'd never really planned to come back for it...Adam must be thrilled to see the danger he'd forced her back into.

Shoving the image of his smirking face far from her mind, she moved at a slow, deliberate pace while meticulously picking her way amongst the sleeping giants. One light footstep after another made no sound - no sound besides the slightly elevated pounding of her heartbeat in her ears.

Too bad Yang couldn't see this...she'd get a kick out of it for sure.

" _Wait, you're telling me that those things_ sleep _during the day?"_

" _Yup."_

" _Like, actually close all those beady red eyes and shut down?"_

" _Exactly like that."_

" _..._ how _do you know this?"_

" _Well, I pay attention in class. And I've seen it."_

" _You've SEEN them sleeping? Like, you could've gone up and poked one in the eye?"_

" _Something like that…"_

" _Jeez, you never cease to amaze me."_

" _Hopefully, I'll never stop?"_

" _Please, you're the definition of mysterious and incredible and the absolute best partner in all of Beacon!"_

" _More shameless flirting, I see."_

" _Oh...uh, I can stop...if it makes you uncomfortable."_

" _No, Yang, I'm just teasing. Who would you flirt with if not me?"_

" _Other people?"_

" _...that wouldn't make me feel better."_

Yup...she could definitely poke on in the eye right now...but that would definitely result in her immediate death. And then she would never see Yang again.

God, what an idiot she'd been...so determined to remain 'just friends' or 'just partners' or 'anything really, just not that' when Yang was so much more to Blake than any of those things. The most ridiculous part was that she'd _known_ those feelings were there - that the tendrils of jealousy she felt when other students flirted with her partner pointed at deeper feelings of desire. Looking back, she'd just wasted time. Time they could have spent together.

Nearing the back wall, she focused her attention on finding the exact location she'd left the microscopic chip - a tiny crack in the wall that looked exactly the same as the thousands of other cracks surrounding it. But this particular one looked a _little_ bit like the number '7'...still not entirely descriptive, but thankfully her memory served her well enough to find it after only a few seconds of peering through the dark.

Reaching her fingers blindly into the crevice, she fumbled around until she felt something plastic beneath her fingertips. Grasping it gently between two fingers, she pulled the small plastic case out and quickly glanced at it to confirm the chip was still safely inside before slipping it into her pocket and turning around to make her way back to the mouth of the cave.

Hard part down. Now she just needed to make it back outside, through the forest, and then find out where Adam was going to lead her next.

Though she might rather face all of these Death Stalkers than see Adam again.

One thing at a time. She needed to take this one action at a time. It was too easy to become emotionally compromised in these situations and make rash decisions or careless mistakes. If she focused on the task at hand, it would prevent her from thinking about Yang...that Adam had gotten his filthy paws on the most important -

Her feet paused abruptly, ears moving back and forth in an effort to find the source of the disturbance she'd just picked up in the air. A few heartbeats later and she began to hear it more clearly - the sound stirring her legs back into action, this time much faster than she'd been previously moving.

Noises - outside the cave entrance.

Hopping over a giant claw, she was just over halfway to the exit - but the air in the cavern had changed, growing almost restless with energy. And it could be her currently panicked existence playing tricks on her, but she could swear that the Deathstalkers were now shifting in their sleep.

What she'd thought to herself before - about how she'd rather fight these Deathstalkers than see Adam again - she really, _really_ hadn't meant that.

Three quarters of the way there -

"Blake! We need to go!"

For a split second time stood still as Ruby's voice cut through what had once been tense silence within the cave. It was within that brief flicker of time that adrenaline - even more than Blake had already been filled with - flooded her system, setting every muscle aflame. Her legs broke into a sprint instantly, flying over claws while hundreds of shining red eyes suddenly flashed open and giant, poisonous stingers lit in a dangerous yellow.

Able to see much more clearly with the eerie red/gold glow in the cave, she ducked when a claw flew above her head and snapped where her neck had just been. The sound of a hundred feet skittering across rock filled her ears while she raced towards the exit, trying to outrun the monsters closing in on her from all sides.

Drawing Gambol Shroud, she leapt over the stinger that came hurtling towards her, slicing down at the tail of the creature while she sailed overtop. While still high in the air she blasted herself backwards and left a shadow of herself to take another stinger. Landing on the ledge in a crouch, she quickly stood and raced outside.

Cast suddenly into daylight, she found Weiss and Ruby in the midst of a battle of their own. A pair of Nevermores were circling overhead, crying out loudly to alert Grimm in the area that food had been found. A large group of Ursa lumbered menacingly out of the tree line in front of them with more and more gathering by the second. Of course, that was nothing compared to the stampede of Deathstalkers about to spill out of the cave behind her.

"Run!" she yelled towards her teammates, not slowing her momentum for an instant while quickly choosing the path towards the least amount of Ursa and sprinting that direction. Without turning around, she heard the horde of scorpion-like creatures pile out of the cave and watched Weiss and Ruby turn briefly before following Blake with no questions.

With the three of them grouped together, they blasted overtop of the line of Ursa and landed on the other side in a full sprint - now being pursued by an army of Grimm larger than anything they'd faced before. The Ursa were growling loudly as the hulking monsters tore through the trees after them, ripping off branches in the process. The Deathstalkers weren't far behind and were closing fast, claws clicking menacingly while they let out a never ending hissing noise that brought goosebumps to Blake's skin. And the Nevermores...the giant birds were still circling above - unable to attack now that they were back in the 'safety' of the trees, but patiently waiting for their chance to join the fray.

Weiss spun around for a split second and sent a wave of ice erupting from the ground behind them, snaring several Ursa in its grip - but the remaining creatures hardly slowed down, slamming into the barrier and sending shards shattering in all directions.

At the pace they were currently moving, it would still be at least a half an hour before they made it back to the edge of Beacon's grounds. And there was no way they could maintain this speed for that long…

Ruby flashed ahead of them, drawing Crescent Rose effortlessly along the bottom of a line of trees directly to the right. A loud groaning filled the air as dozens of hundred foot tall trees began tilting slowly in their direction, picking up more and more speed as gravity began its inevitable work. Snaps and rustles came from high above as branches splintered and snapped on the way down.

Spurring her legs faster, Blake was fighting against time to make it underneath the lowest hanging branches while they whizzed over her head. The first tree landed with a thunderous boom behind her - her feet actually leaving the forest floor from the small scale earthquake that followed. The noise was accompanied by the howls of several Ursa who were likely caught underneath.

There was no time to rest - the second, third, fourth - _all_ of the trees were still careening towards them, hammering the earth again and again while she and Weiss flew underneath, trying not to fall too far behind so that they wouldn't also be the ones being pulverized.

But the trees were falling too quickly - the last one already leaning too far towards the ground - the lowest hanging branch was going to catch her and Weiss if they didn't get out of the way.

At the last possible second, Weiss dropped to her knees on top of a winter-white glyph and slid underneath while Blake jumped, twisting horizontally in the air to maneuver herself between two very solid branches, just barely avoiding snagging her clothing on the gnarled twigs before the entire thing crashed to the ground - splinters of wood blasting into her when the once mighty tree cracked into pieces from the force of the fall. Landing some twenty feet away with a slight stumble, she kept running - Ursa and Deathstalkers temporarily slowed, but quickly climbing over, under, and through the wreckage of wood in relentless pursuit.

"Ruby, find a way to lose them!" Weiss shouted above the noise coming from behind them.

Their leader immediately shot away, leaving nothing but a trail of rose petals in her wake while Blake and Weiss raced blindly through the forest, dodging quickly around tree after tree while trying to maintain distance between themselves and the pursuing horde.

It occurred to Blake in that moment that Ruby could easily leave them behind and be safely at home in no time. But...she doubted that Ruby even realized that. Ruby would certainly never consider it to be an option.

In a few seconds, Ruby was running beside them again.

"I have an idea!" she yelled over the sound of the Ursa growling behind them. "But you guys aren't gonna like it."

They didn't respond, merely altering their course to follow Ruby to whatever she'd found - trusting that their leader had figured out a plan. A few seconds later Blake heard it - a dull roaring sound that was growing louder with each passing footstep. Several seconds after that, she saw it.

They'd stumbled upon a river cutting through the forest and were now racing along its banks, making sure to stay out of the open patch of soft, muddy ground extending nearly five yards on either side of the rushing water. Up ahead the sky was becoming increasingly blue and looked like the entire forest dissolved into nothing before their very eyes.

It was a waterfall.

Groaning, but not slowing her pace, Blake understood exactly what was going to happen next. They were going to jump off a waterfall.

And then they were very likely going to die.

"Weiss, the water!" Ruby shouted as the solid ground between them and nothing more than thin air rapidly disappeared.

The last section of calm river water turned into a block of ice - the waterfall's resources temporarily diverted to either side so that it wouldn't pound them into oblivion at the bottom. There wasn't even any time to admire the brilliance before they ran out of dry land.

Coiling her legs on the exact last step, Blake released her muscles and propelled herself as far away from the edge as possible. Her teammates were right beside her as they left the solid ground of the forest behind in favor of the thin, misty air at the very top of the waterfall, having absolutely no idea how high up they were.

For a split second their momentum continued to carry them forward and out away from the ledge they'd just leapt from. But that momentum quickly evaporated, her stomach careening into her throat as forward progress became nonexistent and they fell like bricks towards the large pool of water hundreds of feet below. The last droplets of water were falling at the same moment beside them - each seeming to be suspended in the air while they plummeted back to earth together.

They were joined above by several Ursa - the ones who hadn't been nimble enough to stop in time and had tumbled right off the ledge behind them, now howling in fear.

With the water rushing to greet her terrifyingly fast, Blake pointed her feet, glued her arms to her sides, and took a deep breath right before hitting the surface. The force of the fall shot her what must have been twenty feet deep in the cold, murky water at the base of the falls and the shock of the impact stunned her for several seconds. It would have been easy to panic from the lack of air, disorientation, and abrupt cold, but she forced herself to remain calm. For a few moments she remained unmoving while searching for the surface. Finally finding a patch of slightly brighter water that must be above her, she began making her way towards it.

Unlike many Faunus - especiallythe more feline Faunus - Blake actually knew how to swim. It had been mandatory to learn as a member of Team RWBY...according to Yang. Although Blake had suspicions that Yang's zealousness had more to do with them wearing swimsuits than Blake's fighting prowess.

Kicking her feet just like Yang had taught her, Blake swam upward - arms pulling her up as quickly as possible while she fought against the lack of oxygen and bubble of panic building in her system. Breaking the surface a second later with a loud gasp, she treaded water and gulped in air while searching desperately for her teammates - finding the two girls already swimming towards the closest bank of the river.

The Ursa were also emerging from the water not twenty feet from her, making a tremendous amount of noise while they flailed about in panic, splashing water everywhere. She immediately began swimming towards Ruby and Weiss, trying to put as much distance between her and the monsters as possible in case they decided that now would be the perfect time to learn how to swim.

The entire flow of the forest seemed to have been disrupted now that the waterfall had been disturbed. The remaining water was cascading down rocks and onto the tops of trees that had always been safely out of its path. Add to that the sounds of her arms and legs slapping against the water, her heartbeat pounding in her ears, and the Ursa behind her. In between strokes, she saw Ruby make it to the shore first before pulling Weiss up an instant later.

Both girls turned towards her then - eyes widening in horror.

"Blake -" Weiss began slowly, using that tone that was meant to not startle people but accomplished just the opposite.

At that moment, the strong tug of an underwater current temporarily overpowered her, pulling her back underneath the surface and twisting her around before disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. Kicking back to the surface, she took a big gasp of air when she'd broken through again and spun around while trying to relocate her teammates.

"Blake, hurry!" Ruby shouted from the shore, both she and Weiss waving Blake hastily towards them.

Spurring her arms and legs back into motion, she made the mistake of glancing behind her - just in time to watch a line of giant, bony scales slip fluidly back under the surface of the water.

Turning back towards the shore, she swam as fast as she possibly could, but just because she knew how to swim didn't mean she was a championship swimmer. Behind her came the unmistakable sound of an Ursa crying out - cut off by the gurgle of water.

Standing at the very edge of the pool of water, Ruby extended Crescent Rose towards Blake - stretching as far as possible without falling back in. Just a little further…

The 'currents' in the water were ebbing and flowing rapidly, whipping around beneath her and tugging her in every direction while some mammoth creature passed back and forth in the depths of the falls. Another Ursa disappeared with a muffled cry, this time as scales brushing roughly against Blake's leg.

This was why she hated water. Really, really hated water…

The creature whipped past her again, this time dragging her further away from her teammates in the process. Suddenly, Weiss stepped off the edge of the pool - seamlessly forming a patch of ice spreading away from the shore and running out towards Blake.

"Weiss!" Ruby yelled in caution, but Weiss had already reached Blake and was helping pull her from the water onto cold ice.

After yanking Blake to her feet, both of them raced towards the shore, slipping and sliding on the smooth surface. Whether they jumped the last few feet or were flung through the air when the ice suddenly burst apart was difficult to tell, but the next instant Blake hit the soft, muddy shore and instinctively rolled away from the water. When she came to a stop, she turned back just in time to watch the water Grimm take another Ursa - a long, spiny tail thrashing straight up in the air while the creature dragged its prize down into the depths.

The faint sound of cracks came from far above their heads, followed by a shattering noise when the ice finally released the torrents of water to resume its rightful path. The three of them watched in awe as the river careened down the side of the mountain, crashing into the pool and sending a giant wave of water spilling over the edges and rolling down the river away from them. The noise in the air grew deafening when the waterfall found its purpose again, sending a cloud of mist rolling into the air.

No sooner had Blake turned away from the falls did something crash roughly into her side, knocking her off her feet and slamming her into the muddy ground. There was no time to comprehend what was happening before Ruby was jumping off of her, grabbing her by the hand and dragging her to her feet while they stumbled towards the tree line - a row of giant black feathers lodged in the ground where she'd just been standing.

Adrenaline was pumping once again while they dodged from tree to tree and pushed deeper into the woods. The Nevermore cries were directly overhead as the giant creatures swept as close as possible to the trees in an effort to snatch one of them up.

But the trees were working on their side today, offering more and more cover the further they raced from the waterfall. Still the creatures pursued until Ruby finally pointed towards a giant boulder nestled in the forest floor ahead of them. With nothing more than that simple gesture, the three of them slid to a stop crouching at the base of the rock, hiding from the Grimm circling the skies above and hoping that the Nevermores would lose sight of them and give up.

It was in silence that they waited. The only sounds in the air surrounding them were the screaming monsters flying overhead, their labored breathing, and the steady drip, drip, drip of water falling from their drenched clothing onto the dried leaves covering the forest floor at their feet.

A few more minutes of patiently waiting and Blake's breathing finally began to slow when the sound of Nevermores gradually faded away - the creatures flying off in search of easier meals. Even after the sound had completely disappeared, she waited a few extra minutes before letting out a sigh of relief - a signal to her teammates that her ears could no longer pick up sounds of imminent danger.

Safe to move, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the small chip that had been the cause of all this trouble. Thankfully, no water had managed to slip inside the case. Sliding it back into her pocket for safekeeping, she stood up with Ruby and Weiss.

Taking one look at her teammates, she could accurately say that they were a mess. They were soaking wet and miserable - at least, she and Weiss were. Weiss ran both hands through her long, matted ponytail and wrung out as much water as possible before doing the same with her skirt. Blake did the same with her own hair, but there was very little that could be done for her ears...and even less that could be done for the entire side of her that was covered in mud.

Only Ruby didn't seem to be too uncomfortable. Shaking her short head of hair like a dog, she brushed some leaves from where they'd stuck to her skirt and actually managed a small smile.

If only Yang were here. Then they'd all be dry in no time.

If Yang were here, they wouldn't have had to jump off a waterfall to begin with...

"Come on, we should go," Blake said, slowly spinning in a complete circle before realizing that she had absolutely no idea which direction they should go. Too busy running for their lives, she'd lost track of where they were in relation to Beacon.

Sighing, she looked up and picked the nearest, tallest tree before beginning to climb, throwing herself upward from branch to branch while leaving the forest floor behind. When she reached the thinner branches near the top of the canopy she slowed down and made sure to keep her head low in case there were more Nevermores in the area.

After scanning and finding nothing but blue skies and white clouds, she pulled herself up onto the highest branch that would hold her weight - standing on top of the forest with nothing but leaves and mountain formations extending for miles and miles. In her time away from this life, she'd forgotten how peaceful it was up here - outside the walls of Vale, on top of the world. There were no Grimm, save for a stray Nevermore every now and again.

She'd always loved being up here, swaying gently back and forth while the tree beneath her feet bent to the will of the breeze. It was so...peaceful...and something she'd love to share with Yang one day.

Off in the distance was Beacon - the grand school visible as if it were floating above them miles away. They were going to have an uphill journey home since the waterfall had taken them into a lower basin of the forest, but at least they could still see the school from here.

Picking out a few landmarks in order to chart their course, she dropped herself down from branch to branch until she hit the carpet of leaves with a near noiseless crunch. Straightening, she pointed the direction they would go before setting off at a fast jog. They weren't doing that bad for time, but she didn't want to be in this forest any longer than necessary. The sooner they got out of here, the sooner they could try to come up with a plan to stop whatever Adam was trying to do.

One thing at a time…

It was silent for some time while they ducked through the forest, moving from tree to tree just as they'd been taught to do. It was Ruby who finally decided to break the silence.

"Yang's gonna be so jealous…"

Weiss let out a small scoff of laughter at the comment.

"She'll probably ask us to come back and do it again."

"'What? You jumped off a waterfall without me?'" Ruby whispered in a nearly perfect imitation of her sister's voice.

"'And got chased by an army of Grimm?'" Weiss added in her own version of mimicry. "'We _have_ to do it again!'"

"'What do you mean, _too_ _dangerous_?'" Ruby continued without missing a beat. "'I still wanna do it!'"

The two girls turned towards Blake and grinned while whining, "Blakeeeeee!" in perfect unison.

She had to smile, knowing it was _exactly_ what Yang would say. Then Yang would somehow convince Blake to go along with it. Or make her believe it was actually a _good_ idea to put their lives at risk again. Or promise that her participation would be _rewarded_ at a later date. That was just how things seemed to work whenever Yang was around...not that Blake was complaining - or would ever complain ever again.

Their conversation ended then as they continued the climb back to Beacon, exhaustion beginning to show itself in their slowing pace and labored breathing. With little to no sleep the night before, followed by the long trek out to the cave, followed by the terrifying sprint away from it, the three of them were in sore need of a nap by this point. The last half mile was the worst - so close to home, yet so far. Her feet were dragging and she could hear that Ruby and Weiss' were, as well.

But eventually they made it - emerging from the trees onto the safety of the green pastures of Beacon's grounds. The main campus buildings were still a ways away, but this _felt_ like it was close enough to being back.

Not a hundred feet from the treeline, Ruby stopped jogging and unceremoniously fell to the ground with a long groan of agony. Weiss followed her partner's lead, albeit with much more dignity than Ruby had just displayed. For a few seconds, Blake observed her two teammates sprawled upon the ground before deciding that maybe she should also listen to the screaming in her calves and give her legs a short break.

Sitting down on the soft, warm grass before laying on her back, she stretched out so as to absorb as much of the warmth as possible. Her chest was still heaving while her lungs struggled to catch up in terms of oxygen intake and her muscles were protesting loudly from the trauma they'd recently undergone.

But they'd survived. She had what Adam wanted. And they'd made it back with time to spare.

The three of them laid there for a few minutes, soaking up the sun while recuperating their energy before whatever was going to come next. It was actually a nice day - sunny, clear, nice soft breeze...but it would have been even nicer if Yang was lying here beside them, cracking jokes like usual.

A sharp breeze blew abruptly across Blake's skin, raising goosebumps along her arms with the chill it cast into the warm air. It was out of place on a day like today. And almost felt like -

The sound of a throat being conspicuously cleared from above them froze every cell in her body as dread filled her veins. She didn't even need to look to know who it was standing above them, but she did anyway - opening her eyes and tilting her head up to find a _very_ angry Professor Goodwitch glaring down at them. The woman's switch was grasped tightly in one hand, as if she'd like to use it on any one of them right that instant.

Hearing Ruby and Weiss scramble to their feet, Blake followed suit - those piercing green eyes boring holes into her all the while. As soon as they were upright, the woman whipped the switch down to her side, hitting the top of her tall boots with a sharp snap as she spun away from them - cape flapping in the wind.

"My office. Now."


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I really appreciate hearing from all of you. Getting feedback that can help me become a better writer is definitely one of the reasons I write fan fiction.**

 **In other news, this story is over half over!**

* * *

" _We're going to die."_

" _Naw, it won't be that bad! Professor Goodwitch is never as harsh as she tries to sound."_

" _No, I mean after Professor Goodwitch gives us detention, Nora's going to murder us."_

" _Nooo...Nora wouldn't do that!"_

" _Yang, her hair is_ green _."_

" _Y-yeah! And she looks really,_ really _great!"_

" _...we're going to die."_

" _Oh come on! If there's any way to go, that'd be it, right? Caught dumping green hair dye into Nora Valkyrie's shampoo bottle? We'll be legends!"_

" _Legends of stupidity."_

" _You still enjoyed it. I know you had fun! I saw that sparkle in those big, beautiful eyes of yours."_

" _I just like spending time with you."_

" _You mean you like me and my nefarious ways!"_

" _...yeah. I guess...I do like you, Yang. Kinda like...well, maybe like how Weiss likes Ruby..."_

The sound of Glynda's heels clicking down the hall filled Blake's ears while the huntress strode purposefully ahead of them. Heads drooped in shame, they were being led through Beacon towards the one room no student _ever_ wanted to be called into.

Thankfully, no one was around to see their walk of shame - the hallways desolate since classes were still in session. And they certainly would have been a sight to see...clothing still damp, dirty, and, in Blake's case, half covered in a nice layer of mud. Add to that a positively steaming Professor Goodwitch and they'd be the talk of the school in no time.

As if the woman's scowl wasn't enough to adequately express her anger, Professor Goodwitch was using her switch to throw open the doors when they approached, allowing the poor things to slam into the walls with so much force Blake was beginning to wonder how they weren't shattering or flying right off their hinges.

She'd never seen Professor Goodwitch this angry before. This made all of the other times they'd gotten into trouble seem like friendly conversations over tea. If this were any other day she'd be terrified about the conversation they were about to have, but they'd very nearly just died and Yang's life was still very much at stake. They needed to accept their punishment and get back to the room as fast as possible. _  
_

They'd barely stepped through the doorway of Professor Goodwitch's office before the woman slammed the door behind them, striding over to the singular large desk in the room and gesturing them forward. As a team they stood several feet away from the front of the desk in a single line, their gazes focused attentively upon the woman in front of them.

"You don't show up for class. You don't tell anyone where you went -"

Professor Goodwitch was pacing back and forth while she spoke, throwing her hands in the air to express her frustration. Meanwhile her eyes kept flitting to the collar around Blake's neck before bouncing away - each glance making Blake's cheeks flush hotter in humiliation.

"WHAT were you thinking? The three of you could have been killed! Does that mean _nothing_ to you?"

A piercing gaze was leveled at each of them in turn, clearly expecting some sort of reply from one of them.

"We decided to hold an impromptu practice," Weiss answered on their behalf. "We must have forgotten to tell JNPR where we'd be."

Weiss had carved out quite the role for herself as the unofficial designated liar for their team. It had never been explicitly stated, but Blake had noticed how Weiss would naturally take the lead in this type of situation. Weiss _was_ the best liar out of the four of them. Ruby always giggled...Yang winked too much...Blake would stammer ever so slightly...but Weiss could say _anything_ with an air of finality and authority that seemed to override suspicions in a heartbeat.

Of course, they'd never tried to lie to Professor Goodwitch before…

"You decided to practice...in the forest...even though that was the _very first_ thing you were _explicitly_ told _not_ to do when arriving at Beacon?" Professor Goodwitch asked, eyes narrowed and voice dripping in either disbelief or uncontrolled anger.

"There are no rules regarding location in the real world," Weiss stated calmly in return. "There's either a Grimm to fight, or not. They don't always make the locale convenient."

The answer was fluid, but Blake could tell that Weiss was ruffled - her hands shaking slightly while clasped tightly behind her back.

As much as the response played to logic - one of Professor Goodwitch's weaknesses - it only seemed to make the woman more upset. Taking a deep breath through clenched teeth, the huntress' eyes flashed while she glared down upon them.

"Do you have _any_ idea how worried -"

When the woman's voice unexpectedly broke with emotion, Blake's eyes widened in surprise. Immediately turning away from them, Professor Goodwitch stalked towards the tall window on the far side of the office and needlessly opened and slammed one of the desk drawers.

It was with a heavy heart that Blake realized that Professor Goodwitch had actually been scared - deathly afraid that something bad had happened to them. She'd probably been patrolling the grounds searching for them and that was how they'd been found so quickly upon their return. Or...she'd gone into the forest after them and managed to follow their trail of destruction back out of it. The latter would explain the slightly muddy soles of the woman's boots...

The soft click of a door opening drew Blake's attention backward. The three of them turned around to watch Professor Ozpin walk serenely into the room - the man sipping his signature cup of coffee while moving to stand behind Professor Goodwitch's desk.

He said nothing at first - seemingly content to make himself comfortable in the blonde woman's space. After leaning his cane against one side of the desk and setting his mug down, he sat in the chair and rested his elbows upon the surface of the desk - gazing at them intently, but not uttering a single word. He looked out of place in Professor Goodwitch's office, yet somehow he seemed to be exceptionally at ease in this space. Almost as if this, too, was somewhere he belonged.

While he looked at them, Blake stared back wondering what exactly he was going to say or do. Everyone knew that his methods of teaching and discipline were more unconventional than most, but in this situation they were very clearly in the wrong and had broken a serious rule.

Her attention was drawn away from the man when Professor Goodwitch suddenly spun back towards them - all business once again.

"And _where_ is your partner?"

The question froze Blake instantly. Panic began to set in while she wondered how she could answer that question without breaking Adam's 'rule' - knowing that he was likely watching this interaction very intently right now. Lie. She had to lie. She couldn't draw anymore suspicion than they'd already garnered.

Maybe Yang had come down with the flu? Or had a badly sprained ankle? Or had slept in - that was it. She'd overslept and they hadn't felt like waiting.

"She didn't want to come with us."

Ruby's answer made Blake flinch and snap her mouth shut just as her own excuse for Yang's absence had been about to tumble out. The response was a dead giveaway that they were lying. Yang would be the first one to volunteer to break the rules, not the voice of reason. And _everyone_ knew that, a fact made all the more obvious when the level of concern in the room rose exponentially. In less than a heartbeat, Professor Goodwitch switched from scolding them for their ill-advised decisions to heightened alarm over what they weren't saying.

However, it wasn't Professor Goodwitch who spoke next.

"Miss Belladonna."

Her eyes snapped to the soft voice and found Professor Ozpin regarding her carefully, the man's calm exterior displaying no hint of panic whatsoever. His eyes flitted to the collar enclosing her neck before meeting her eyes.

"Where is your partner?"

She didn't _know_. If she knew where Yang was, would she really be sitting here in this office right now? No, if she knew where Yang was, or had even the slimmest idea, she'd be charging off to rescue her partner and would explain everything else later.

"We don't know," she replied - opting for a truthful answer which revealed nothing more.

"What do you mean 'you don't know?' How could you -"

Professor Ozpin raised one hand to silence his colleague before the question could be finished.

"Why were you in the forest?" he asked instead, tone as calm and steady as the one he'd used for the first question. His eyes were watching Blake closely, reading her body language for an answer just as much as his ears were listening for one.

Against her will, she felt herself fidget under the intense gaze - understanding that the slight movement had just given away her intent not to supply the full truth.

"We were having an unscheduled practice," she lied, feeling a small twitch in one ear that she hoped went unnoticed. "Yang overslept, so we left without her. Guess she ran off to do her own thing."

For a long time the answer seemed to hang in the air, being neither accepted nor rejected by their two instructors. Finally, Professor Ozpin nodded, appearing to understand what Blake was speaking about even though there was no way he possibly could have.

"Does this have anything to do with your past?"

Both ears twitched at the unexpected question. How could he possibly have known…

Professor Goodwitch was also watching Blake intently now - both adults being very familiar with her...more checkered history. She'd never disclosed that she'd been a member of the White Fang, yet Professor Ozpin had already known from the moment they'd first met.

The only reason she'd agreed to come to Beacon was because he'd assured her that he didn't care about where she'd been, only where she was going. And he'd promised to teach her the skills to ensure she got to where she wanted to go. He'd been the first person to see in her what she wished to find in herself...something beyond the label that defined her and the past the haunted her.

Through his assurances and encouragement, she'd met Ruby and Weiss and Yang. He deserved her honesty...but she couldn't give it at this time. Hopefully, he would understand.

"No," she answered firmly. "She's around here somewhere. We just don't know where right now."

Another nod, with a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips - as if this were some big game and the outcome was eluding everyone but him.

"Do you need any help finding her?" he asked carefully.

Biting her lip, she glanced quickly at Weiss and Ruby, who both looked back at her with expressions that told her this decision was completely up to her. They _did_ need help, but Adam…

"No," she replied while looking directly in his eyes. "I'm sure she's just at the gym or something. Not worried about it."

Again, Professor Ozpin nodded like she'd made the move he'd anticipated several turns ago.

"Sorry for keeping you," he stated, standing abruptly from the desk and waving them dismissively out of the room. "You may go now. You know where to find us, if need be."

Professor Goodwitch gave the man an expression of dumbfounded shock certainly equivalent to theirs, only they snapped out of it quickly in order to rush out of the room - not willing to risk lingering a moment longer.

It was only when the three of them tumbled back into the hallway that Blake felt the sheer adrenaline pounding through her veins. They'd managed to escape without saying anything...although she couldn't help feeling like Professor Ozpin knew exactly what was going on. How he might know, she had absolutely no idea, but why else would he let them leave without any punishment whatsoever?

That didn't matter right now. All that mattered was that, hopefully, they hadn't given enough away to make Adam angry. If they'd kept the game alive, he would still be willing to play…

"Blake…"

"Yeah?" she answered Ruby absentmindedly, mind racing with upcoming scenarios while they made their way quickly back to their dorm room.

"What do we do now?"

This was the part she really, truly hated.

"Now we wait."

No one said another word as they filed back into their room minutes later, tossing their weapons on the ground in a heap. Ruby and Weiss sank onto the floor in front of Weiss' bed, but Blake remained standing in order to pace in front of them. Catching a reflection of herself in the bathroom mirror, she turned away in disgust. There was nothing more disgraceful than to be collared like a slave.

Reaching one hand up, she pulled at it, digging her fingers underneath and stretching the stiff material before mentally compelling herself to drop her hand. The last thing she wanted to do was give Adam the satisfaction of knowing how much the collar was grating not only against her skin but her resolve. It was immovable and uncomfortable and demeaning, but she would endure. She'd survived much worse than this.

Right now she really missed Yang. She missed Yang's warmth, smile, confidence...that feeling of safety that came along with Yang's underlying power. All Blake wanted to do right now was cuddle into her partner's arms - fall asleep warm and safe, sleep for an entire day, and forget about this entire mess.

Looking at her empty bed, she pinched the bridge of her nose, closed her eyes, and sighed.

" _Soo...now that we're officially dating...does that mean we get to share a bed?"_

" _We've already slept in the same bed before."_

" _Yeah, but that was just as friends!"_

" _You still cuddled me to death - how will this be any different?"_

" _Uh...well, we're not...just friends, so...uh, you know?"_

" _Oh. Are you asking…?"_

" _What? No! No, not that - just, I was kinda wondering if - you know, maybe, if you wanted -"_

" _Yang."_

" _...can I kiss you?"_

When Yang was back, Blake was going to be the one cuddling her partner to death. Ruby and Weiss were just going to have to deal with the extra affection for a few days...or weeks. Surely her schoolwork would suffer, but this whole ordeal had put trivial matters like tests and papers into perspective. What was the point of either of those things if she no longer had her partner beside her?

What an ironic question. When she'd gotten to Beacon and realized she'd be assigned one person to work with for four years, she'd very nearly decided to leave. She'd already worked with a partner and it had turned out horribly wrong. Why would she want to put herself through that again?

But then Yang had happened.

Looking at the time, Blake tried to swallow the desperation beginning to bubble in her chest.

Adam knew that they were back at the room. He knew that they'd retrieved what he'd asked for, yet he was making them wait. It was intentional - she was sure of it. He'd given Blake a deadline and was now forcing her to watch the minutes tick away while she had no power to move an inch closer to having Yang back. He was bleeding time from the clock simply because he could. Because he wanted Blake to feel even more helpless than she already did. He wanted to force her into fear and panic. He wanted her to pay - to remember who was really in control of this situation.

The prideful part of her wished she could say it wasn't working, but every time she looked at the clock she could feel the stress building and building. Yet she kept checking again and again and again.

There were still a few hours left, but who knew where he would send them to next?

Mid-pace, Blake noticed that Weiss had fallen asleep with her head leaning on Ruby's shoulder. Ruby was still awake and alert, patiently watching Blake pace back and forth - both of her teammates sitting with their backs leaning against the bedframe. The sight made her heart ache, but at least they were getting some rest for their aching muscles - they would need it.

Meeting Ruby's eyes, Blake immediately turned away - not wanting Adam to see her teammates anymore than he absolutely had to. They shouldn't have been dragged into this to begin with. This wasn't their fight. The last thing Blake wanted was for Adam to have information on them that he shouldn't have.

Resolutely avoiding that side of the room, she realized with a heavy heart that now she couldn't even look at her teammates without feeling like she was putting them in harm's way. It was a wedge Adam was trying to drive between them, serving as a way to make her feel isolated from her team. To fully protect them, she would have to withdraw from them. To keep them safe, she needed to be without them…

The knowledge made her clench one fist in anger and frustration.

This was _her_ team. They accepted her for what she was. They accepted her for what she'd been and what she'd done. They were her best friends and family. Yet somehow he'd still found a way to take them away from her. Protecting the ones she loved meant she needed to stay away from them...even as they risked their lives to help her.

Resuming her pacing, Blake made sure not to look towards that half of the room again. Instead she stared towards the ground at her muddy boots, watching them take rapid steps before spinning around and heading in the opposite direction.

The illusion that someone could protect their family was merely that - an illusion. A fantasy. The only way to protect someone was by not being in their lives at all.

She'd been a fool coming here to Beacon. With her past, she should have accepted that she was cursed to spend the rest of her life on the fringes of society. The only good she could do would be from the shadows, working by herself, always alone.

A hand suddenly caught hers and froze her mid-pace. Even though she stopped moving, she refused to turn her head to look Ruby's way. But Ruby didn't seem to care. She squeezed Blake's hand softly before letting go, and that was enough to make Blake's throat tighten with emotion.

They understood. And they were still with her. The simple action made her feel stronger, breathing reason back into her spiraling thoughts.

If her team had wanted a different partner - one without such a dangerous past - they'd had plenty of opportunities to make that desire known by now. But they hadn't. Instead they'd embraced her. They'd embraced her past. They understood, on some level, that she was a danger, yet accepted her as one of their own.

Checking the time once again, she sighed and ran one hand through her hair. It was still damp and tangled, but she was in no mood to fix it right now. That would just have to wait.

When her scroll began buzzing in her hand, she nearly dropped it in surprise. Seeing Yang's name and corresponding picture used to make her smile, but now she only felt dread and anger. Jabbing the device viciously to answer, she could only wish the action would translate through to the man on the other side.

"I want to see her," she demanded the instant the call had connected - her voice rousing both of her teammates immediately.

Adam scoffed at the demand.

"Do you really think I'd kill her so soon?" he drawled lazily, pointing the camera towards Yang long enough for Blake to see that her partner was still asleep, still breathing. "I won't hurt her unless you don't follow my orders. You have my word."

The words rolled through her mind like thunder - bringing back the memory of what had happened the last time he'd said that very same sentence to her. After she'd begged him to save innocent lives - to clear out the houses before setting off charges - to give people enough warning to get to safety.

 _Don't worry, Blake. You have my word._

He didn't know - he must not, or he wouldn't have said it. After the dust had settled, she'd gone back. She'd found the bodies. Innocent lives wasted when all he'd had to do was give them a warning. Knock on the door. Tell them to run. There had been more than enough time…

"Should've known you'd pick Death Stalkers...do you remember that time -"

"Cut the chit chat," she snapped at him. "I have what you want. Let's get this over with."

Smirking at her agitated tone, he shrugged his shoulders as if he wasn't at all bothered by her refusal to take a trip down memory lane.

"Have it your way," he replied indifferently. "I'll send you the location. Come unarmed or I'll be sending you the video of her death."

Gritting her teeth, Blake couldn't even fathom responding unless it was to spew hatred at him. Every word he said was so careless, as if the thought of murdering an innocent girl solely to get back at Blake was the most blaise action in the world. How had it taken her so long to see the type of person he'd become?

Making a show of checking the time, Adam smirked again - that self-assured, arrogant smirk he'd always had.

"Looks like you'll be cutting it close. How about we make it interesting...for every minute you're late, I'll take off one of her fingers."

A slate of expletives were about to launch off Blake's tongue when the call cut off and left her staring at a blank scroll. Seconds later a message arrived. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to slow her angrily beating heart, she tapped to open it...only to find it was nothing but a picture.

 _Of course_ he wouldn't send her the address. He had to send her some picture so she'd have to figure out where the _hell_ in Vale it was. If it was even in Vale.

Hot tears of frustration welled up in her eyes. Simultaneously she wanted to scream and cry, but could do neither of those things. Which only made the feeling exponentially worse. She wanted to crawl into bed and pretend this was nothing but a nightmare. She wanted to break something, preferably Adam's nose or leg.

More than anything she needed to remain calm - or as calm as she could force herself to be. Becoming emotional wasn't going to get her any closer to bringing Yang safely home. If anything, it would only blind her to whatever Adam had planned and make her miss any hints that were hidden in front of her.

This was just another tactic, she needed to remember that. He was intentionally confusing her, causing her stress, forcing her to focus on figuring out clues in order to prevent her from formulating a plan to strike back at him. This first location probably wasn't even where Yang was being held. They would get there only to find another clue to another location, so they couldn't even try to plan an attack based on this image.

When Ruby and Weiss gestured for her scroll, Blake readily handed it over to them. While they looked at the photo, she closed her eyes, sucked in a deep breath, held it for five seconds, then let it out in a nice, shaky exhale.

Going through this ordeal without Yang only highlighted the positive effects she had on Blake's ability to handle mental duress. Her lightheartedness did wonders in keeping Blake calm and collected. Even when they found themselves in a tricky situation, Yang's confident grin and a well-placed wink always made Blake feel like everything would turn out fine.

Without Yang here, Blake was beginning to feel the cracks appear under the unceasing mental pressure. It was alarming how greatly her emotional well-being was tied to Yang's supportive presence, but Blake was willing to admit it now. She would admit just about anything if it meant having Yang back by her side again.

Deep down, the old Blake was upset that she'd let this happen. She hadn't planned on becoming close to any of her teammates. She hadn't planned on making friends. She hadn't planned on falling in love. How could she have let this happen? The pain that she was feeling right now was a direct result of her lack of diligence. It was a _weakness_. And it could have been avoided.

But on top of her old tendencies was a line of reason that told her none of the incredible moments she'd experienced over the past few years would have happened if she hadn't lowered her guard. She was a bookworm who now had friends and best friends. A loner, ex-White Fang member who could walk down Beacon's halls with her head held high - belonging there just as much as the next student.

That was it, wasn't it? For the first time in her life, she felt like she belonged in a place built by humans. She felt like she belonged with Yang. It hardly occurred to her that she was Faunus and Yang was human. It didn't matter - something she never thought she'd be able to say.

"I know where this is," Weiss suddenly remarked. "It's an old manufacturing plant just outside downtown."

"Do you know the address?" Blake asked, rushing over to Weiss' side to look again at the picture.

"Yes…" Weiss spoke while pulling up the location in scroll maps and handing it to Blake. "Right there."

When Blake accepted the scroll back, a small amount of relief washed over her. Finally they'd caught a break that would save time.

"Blake…"

Turning to Ruby, Blake was immediately taken back by the visible concern in silver eyes.

"What do you think..." Ruby began hesitantly, pausing to bite her lip before continuing. "What do you think the chances are that he...that he'll give Yang back to us...alive?"

The question made Blake blink in surprise while Ruby and Weiss watched her with grave eyes. She'd been so focused on taking this one step at a time that that thought hadn't made it through her mind yet. Naively, she'd believed that if she was able to jump through all his hoops and complete all these trivial tasks, they would always have a fighting chance of bringing Yang home. Now she saw what Ruby and Weiss were looking at.

Ruby's sister and Weiss' teammate had been kidnapped. The motive was highly personal, with very little gain to be had from the tiny chip they'd retrieved from the forest. Yet they were being led through an elaborate obstacle course in order to bring Yang back. If this was really about the chip - why not set up a drop and meeting location like any other exchange? Why the smoke and mirrors? Why the timeline and additional threats? This could have been over in a matter of hours, yet he was drawing this out as long as possible.

Because this was personal. Adam was getting much more out of this than a simple drive of information - he was getting revenge. That's why he was playing games with her, toying with her, making her believe that if she just followed his rules a little longer, everything could turn out fine. But why would it? He didn't want anything to turn out fine. He wanted to _hurt her_.

Ice water raced through her veins when she understood, as concretely as she knew the sky was blue, that Adam wasn't going to let Yang live. He was going to take her from Blake...if only to prove that he could. Because what other ending could possibly satisfy his thirst for retribution?

No, there could be another ending that would make Adam happy...one where Yang lived…

Either way, only one of them would live.

"We just have to hope he'll keep his word. There's no other option right now," she responded half-heartedly. There wasn't much else she could say with Adam listening. Not that there was anything else she could think to do, not when she had no idea where Yang currently was.

"We need to find Yang first…" she muttered to herself. If she knew where Yang was this could become a rescue mission, but until then this was still Adam's game.

Turning towards her teammates, she again felt the swell of guilt for forcing their participation.

"If you want to stay behind -"

"We're going with you," Weiss immediately interrupted while Ruby nodded vigorously.

"We're going to bring her back together," Ruby added, spreading her arms in an open gesture at the same time Weiss folded hers across her chest.

"Plus, I would _love_ to see you beat Ruby in a race there."

When Weiss nodded towards the map still glowing on Blake's scroll, an enormous wave of gratitude rolled through her chest. At one point in time, Blake had preferred to do everything alone. But today...

This was her team. They had her back no matter what. They were going to go save Yang - or...at least try their best to...

Looking back and forth between her two resolute teammates, Blake nodded her head and raced out of the room without another word. The presence of two more determined souls were right on her heels - all three of them leaving their trusted weapons behind as they shut the door.

Stressed, guessing, unarmed...Adam was getting exactly what he wanted.


	6. Chapter 6

They left the airship station at a run, zipping through the streets on foot while following the directions on Blake's scroll. Her legs definitely remembered the sprints from the forest earlier this morning, but she wasn't allowing herself to be tired yet. They still had work to do.

The airship had dropped them near the edge of downtown where regular shopping mixed seamlessly with office buildings. The streets were lined with trendy shops and restaurants that seemed to cater to the working class and were filled with workers wearing suits or professional clothing. Their relaxed attitude as they meandered down the walkways was shocking to Blake - a stark juxtaposition to the nightmare she was currently living.

Of course, their own appearances were alarming to passerby and nearly every person they passed took an extra second to stare at the mud smeared down Blake's side and the disgrace shackled around her neck.

" _They're staring…"_

" _Because you're so beautiful!"_

" _Because of my ears."_

" _Do you want to put the bow back on? I have it right here."_

" _Maybe…"_

" _Ok, but just so you know, I think you're the most amazing person I've ever met - Faunus or otherwise. And if you ever catch me staring, it's because I'm wondering how an idiot like me could have ended up with someone like you."_

" _You're not an idiot, Yang. You're...incredible."_

Today the carefree streets mocked her with their promises of happiness and good memories. Without Yang by her side, there no purpose in trying to believe in the illusion the stores were trying to sell. The world wasn't safe like all of these people woefully believed. Even while she and her teammates ran amongst them, they had no idea the type of evils that could reach out and attack at any time.

While Blake had never been one of these oblivious souls, she would have to admit that she was guilty of lowering her guard. As more time had separated her from the White Fang, she'd foolishly believed that she'd successfully put that past behind her. She'd thought her life was growing safer, not more dangerous.

Oh how wrong she'd been...

The bustling streets were swiftly left behind in favor of emptier roads and worn down buildings. The outer edge of downtown had become an industrial wasteland in recent years - the ill-maintained roads marked by large potholes filled with dark brown water from the recent rain. Every so often a large truck rumbled down the street towards the few manufacturing centers that were still fully operational.

"We should be close," Weiss huffed out several minutes later. "I think - it's just up ahead."

Thank goodness they were close. While they were in great shape, they normally weren't tasked with sprinting miles and miles through the forest and city in one day. Personally, Blake could feel her energy rapidly approaching zero and could tell that Weiss was beginning to feel the same. Only Ruby seemed to be breathing normally - their leader built for a great deal more endurance than they were.

The next street they turned onto dropped them right in front of a massive building with towering smokestacks rising from the center. The main structure was at least ten stories tall before the stacks were added on, and there were various shorter buildings connected by a web of walkways and skybridges to create an extensive campus that must have been quite the sight to see during better times. The once clear windows were now opaque, covered in a layer of dirt and grime from pollution hanging in the air. The entire facility was a relic of a bygone era - left behind when technology swept ahead of it.

"That's it," Weiss said while slowing her pace to a stop and resting her hands on her hips.

"It's _huge_." Ruby's tone was nothing but disbelief as the three of them walk towards the abandoned building. "How're we supposed to find her in there?"

Sharpening her senses, Blake searched for clues - the type of clues most humans would overlook. There were always traces left behind, some of them more difficult to cover up than others. It could be footprints, smells, little bits of trash or plants bent out of place. Or it could be a feeling that she could only describe as a disturbance of energy in the air.

Staring at the sprawling complex in front of them, she picked up very little that she would expect from a location where Adam and the White Fang lurked. There were very few smells besides old, dirty equipment and dirt - lots and lots of dirt. The ground seemed relatively undisturbed. And there was little in terms of energy left behind by visitors.

As her senses fed her no discernable information, her mind debunked everything about this building as a lie. It was too big to adequately protect. Too many entrances meant any guards would be spread too thin. Surveillance, sentries...the resources needed to secure this area would be too great. It just wouldn't work for Adam's purpose.

"There's no one here," she concluded while walking towards the tall fence they would need to scale, ignoring the 'do not enter' signs placed every ten feet. "It's just a misdirection. You don't put a hostage somewhere you can't fully guard."

"How do you know?" Weiss asked curiously.

"I just know."

If there was anything Blake was absolutely certain about right now, it was that Adam wasn't going to make it so easy that the first location would be the meeting spot. This was going to be dragged out until the very last minute - where she would be forced to race against the clock and begin to worry about Yang's fingers.

His goal was clear - force her to feel as helpless as possible. Give her the opportunity to seize control only to rip it away by planting diversions and delays. _Knowing_ that's what he was doing did nothing to help her feel any better about it though.

No, his plan was working exactly like he wanted. With every passing second she was beginning to grow more desperate, more willing to play his game for the small amount of hope that they could find Yang unharmed. But first, this abandoned building. He'd sent them there for a reason - they needed to go inside to figure out what it was.

Poking her fingers through the gaps in the fence, she briefly lifted herself off the ground to make sure it would hold her weight. Satisfied when it barely moved, she dropped back to the ground and motioned for her teammates to follow her over, but Ruby and Weiss were too busy staring at Blake with unreadable expressions.

"Blake...have you kidnapped someone before?"

"What? Of course not!" she immediately shot back at Weiss' genuinely concerned question. "That doesn't mean I haven't seen it happen though."

The two girls shared a look that she didn't miss. It was a look that spawned a very familiar instinct in her chest - one that made her want to fight back, to defend her moral grounds and prove her innocence.

"The White Fang aren't exactly the most scrupulous group," she explained curtly. "Some of them would much rather be feared than respected - and they'd do anything to earn that fear, including kidnapping. There was nothing I could do about it except not get involved."

At the time Adam had convinced her that those missions, while carried out by others, were necessary for their survival. And these were _bad_ people who were being taken. People who hated Faunus and _deserved_ what was happening to them. Looking back she knew those must be lies, but at the time they allowed her to walk passively by, ignoring the cries and pleas for help.

Voluntary ignorance wasn't a defense, she knew that. And that's why she'd been determined to see Beacon through to the end. To become a huntress - to help save lives.

Her disclosure left her teammates in stunned silence for a moment before Weiss let out a disbelieving scoff and shared a quick glance with Ruby.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, Blake, but you're just about the least scary person I've ever met."

The response was so unexpected, Blake's ears twitched several times in confusion. Then Ruby's giggle eased a small smile onto her lips and relaxed the tension that had unknowingly built in her shoulders.

"Yeah, you're even scared of Zwei!" Ruby said with a grin. "Guess you failed White Fang school, huh?"

A smile of relief was the only way Blake could respond as their comments swept away the guilt that had started to grow in her chest at the memories. Sometimes it was easy to forget that she didn't need to be defensive with Ruby and Weiss about her past. They weren't putting her on trial. They weren't questioning her decisions. They asked because they were curious or surprised, but still accepted her as she was - dark history and all.

For someone who'd been expecting to spend four years at Beacon keeping everything about the White Fang a secret, it was a welcome surprise to be able to be...honest.

"Come on, let's get inside," she finally said, motioning with her head over the fence.

Coiling her legs like springs, Blake launched upward and used her hands to fling herself smoothly over the top while Weiss' glyphs sent the other two careening easily over the braids of barbed wire. The three of them landed in near unison on the other side before setting off at a fast jog towards the main door lying in front of them.

It was impossible to guess what they were searching for or where to find it, but as soon as she saw the front door she knew they were on the right track. The lock had been broken off, leaving the building completely open for anyone to walk into. Shoving the door open carefully with one shoulder, Blake peered into the room beyond before walking through.

"Keep your eyes peeled," she whispered to her teammates. "There could be traps…"

Could be, but she doubted that. What fun would it be if she stumbled into a deadly trap here in this abandoned building? Surely Adam would gain very little satisfaction from that type of demise.

But something that caused minor, non-lethal injuries? She wouldn't put that past him.

"Which way do we go?"

"Should we split up?" Weiss suggested.

Shaking her head at that idea, Blake took a moment to focus her senses - especially her nose.

Now, she didn't have an _exceptional_ sense of smell - that distinction would go to the various canine Faunus she'd met over the course of her life. One wolf, in particular, could pick out a particular person from miles away, after a thunderstorm, in the middle of a crowded mall. So no, compared to that her sense of smell was pedestrian, but it was still far better than the average human's.

In the middle of the dusty, deserted lobby, she slowly spun in a circle with her eyes closed. Without the presence of sun, wind, and rain, the air inside had remained undisturbed and untainted in its stillness. There were familiar smells lingering that were too new to blend in with the musk and dirt of long forgotten industrial equipment. Some she couldn't quite identify, but they tingled at the back of her mind in recognition. And one in particular…

Stopping while pointed in a specific direction, Blake took several more deep breaths while trying to pick out that one scent above all the others. It was...familiar. It was...

It was Yang.

As soon as her brain made the connection, she'd couldn't _not_ smell it. Citrus with a sprinkle of ashes and spent gunpowder. Her nose was so certain it was Yang, she wouldn't have been surprised to open her eyes and find her partner standing right in front of her.

Could she be wrong? Was Yang here?

Doubling her focus, Blake tried to pick out any other smells. If the White Fang were here she should be able to pick them up, or worse, she should be able to pick out Adam. But there was just Yang and a few others, all unknown scents.

"She's here?" she asked herself in confusion, eyes open and ears on high alert for the sounds of a trap or ambush.

It didn't make sense. Why would Adam leave Yang here without any sort of guard? Why would he let them find her?

"This way," she whispered while following the scent away from the front entrance.

They walked straight through the lobby to the manufacturing floor, then up several flights of stairs before weaving through hallway after hallway filled with abandoned conference rooms and offices. Across a skybridge, down one level. Left down one hallway, right at the end.

Foreboding began to creep into Blake's mind while she committed each turn to memory. They were being led deep within the heart of the building on a winding path where escape would be neither quick nor easy. But the further they walked, the surer she was that it was Yang they were following. The smell was unmistakable - it was the one she fell asleep next to every night.

"There's nothing here," Weiss commented while they crept along, voice lowered with the hint of suspicion.

"But I can smell her."

Their lack of weapons was growing more and more pronounced as they pressed onward. The three of them were tense with anticipation, expecting a fight to break out around any corner as they followed Blake's nose closer and closer to the source of the scent. Finally, it disappeared behind a door and Blake stopped before following.

The door was slightly ajar when all of the other doors in the hallway were closed, a clear mark that this was where they were supposed to be. And the scent was strong on the other side of the door. Focusing her ears, she heard...nothing. It would be physically impossible for any White Fang to stand so still for such a long period of time. There would be sounds of breathing, shuffling feet, shifting positions...

The room _sounded_ empty, but smelled like Yang.

Heart pounding in her ears, Blake motioned for her teammates to wait right behind her. It didn't make sense for Adam to leave Yang here unless there was a trap Blake wasn't seeing - and it was most likely on the other side of the door. Even though the likelihood was high, she had no other choice but to walk right into it. They were in the center of the building - there weren't even any windows that she could use to get a peek inside.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly pushed the door inward with both hands, prepared to run at any second. Hearing a tiny creak, she froze and lifted her hands. After a second had passed and nothing sprang to life, she regained her courage and pressed further.

The door opened without incident and she took a hesitant step into the room beyond, eyes rapidly scanning the ceilings, corners, and walls - where traps and trip wires were most likely to be placed. The room was a large square with no windows and dozens of chairs stacked haphazardly against the walls. There was a large whiteboard covering another wall, but it was what was in the middle of the room that caught her full attention.

Facing away from them, slumped in a chair with a black bag over her head, was -

"Yang!" Blake cried out, panic and fear jolting through her as she raced to the middle of the room and quickly pulled the bag from Yang's head, only for her blood to instantly run cold.

From the front, it was clear that this wasn't Yang. It was an old practice dummy slouched in the chair wearing the jacket Yang had worn to dinner last night. And, strapped around its chest, was a very rudimentary timer attached to at least ten pounds of explosives. The instant Blake had pulled the bag from the dummy's head, the clock in the center of the device had clicked on - bright red digits at :28 and descending.

"Run," she said quietly, temporarily stunned by what she was seeing. Thankfully the shock wore off quickly. Racing to the door and grabbing Ruby and Weiss' hands, Blake pulled her friends back out the way they'd come. "Run!" she ordered loudly, letting them go and sprinting away from the room.

The smell that lingered in the building, the one layered underneath the dirt she'd left in the entryway - it had been familiar yet difficult to place. It was the smell of explosives. So focused on Yang she'd missed it, but now she could smell it - and it was everywhere. Seeping down every stairwell, every corridor. The entire building was rigged to blow.

Left, right, straight - another hallway, another hallway. The three of them flew through the building while Blake tried to keep a mental count in her head and ignore the burning in her legs and lungs.

They'd gone too far into the building - they were too far from the entrance. There was no way they could make it back out the way they'd come in.

"We need a window!" Blake shouted when the timer in her mind reached single digits.

Sliding around the corner into the next hallway, their exit was placed directly in front of them - a single plate glass window at the very end of the hall. If she'd had Gambol, she would have fired several shots to break it in advance, but seeing as how none of them were armed they were going to have to do this the old fashioned way.

"Me first!" Ruby yelled at the last second before shooting forward like a bullet. A cloud of rose petals rushed into the window, which suddenly burst into a thousand shatters of glass. Slowing a half step, Blake let Weiss jump out second before leaping out the window last.

Right as her feet left the floor her ears picked up a deep rumble from behind her. It was growing louder by the heartbeat - gaining strength and proximity. The five stories to the ground seemed to take an eternity as thunderous waves of energy were being created behind her.

As soon as her feet touched earth she rolled forward, using her downward momentum to swing herself forward and back to her feet at a full sprint. Ruby and Weiss were already racing ahead towards the fence line, flying over top. The instant Weiss landed on the other side she spun and placed a line of glyphs at Blake's feet.

The first explosion was followed by a second and a third in rapid succession - each detonation growing in intensity by the millisecond.

Blake used the glyphs to fly to the fence and scale over, but she was midair when the entire building suddenly burst apart, sending a wave of heat and debris that hit her with the force of a train. Her foot briefly caught on the barbed wire as she cleared the fence, twisting her body unexpectedly before dropping her to the other side. At the last second she tried to correct her body position, but only managed to get one leg fully underneath her before slamming into the ground. A sharp pain shot through her ankle as she collapsed in a heap on the sidewalk.

The blast dissipated quickly, leaving nothing but the smell of ashes and waves of pulsating heat behind. Pushing herself to her feet, she stepped gingerly on her left foot before standing fully. Her ankle wasn't broken, but certainly wasn't 100% now either.

Breathing heavily, her ears ringing loudly, she turned back to the building to find it was now a giant deathtrap of fire and collapsing metal. The smokestacks were leaning precariously to one side and looked ready to give way at any second. Several of the skybridges had always fallen and now there was very little glass remaining in any of the windows.

So much for thinking that Adam wouldn't try to kill her...

"I don't think he likes us…" Ruby commented numbly.

"Ruby! You're bleeding!"

Rushing to Ruby's side, Weiss began closely inspecting the many small cuts running along Ruby's arms and face sustained from jumping through the glass window.

"They're not bad," Ruby determined after pressing her fingers to her wrist and wiping away a small amount of blood. Regardless, Weiss fretted over Ruby's hands, checking each and every knick for its seriousness. As Blake's hearing slowly returned, she could hear sirens beginning to spool up in the distance, inching closer by the second.

While Weiss worried over Ruby, Blake's scroll began ringing. Pulling it out, she found that the screen had cracked in the corner, but other than that it had somehow survived her catastrophically failed landing on concrete far better than her ankle had.

Not even bothering to check the name, she answered and held up the scroll to see Adam's smug face.

"You bastard," were the first words flying out of her mouth, much to his apparent amusement.

"I thought you would enjoy a nice _surprise_ ," he sneered back at her. "Isn't that one of the reasons you waste your time with this pathetic waste of life?"

Blake's nails cut into the palms of her hands when Adam briefly pointed the camera towards Yang - reminding Blake that he was still the one in control and she was the one being forced to behave.

"She's taught you some _manners_ hasn't she," Adam continued with a pointed jeer at Blake's stony silence. "You have twenty minutes left to get me that information. If you make it."

When Adam smirked, the call cut off. Strangling the device in her hand, Blake's ear twitched in confusion when a small popping sound emitted from somewhere close by. Before her mind had time to fully comprehend the noise, something pulled strongly at her neck and ripped the collar free. The next instant Ruby was hurling it back towards the building, where it exploded into a shower of flames a second later. The force of the explosion ripped the material into shreds before it hit the ground in tatters.

Blake and Ruby shared an equal expression of shock after turning away from the destroyed collar.

"Thank you," Blake said softly before looking back at the fragments of charred purple on the other side of the fence. It would be a lie to say that that hadn't shaken her. A near death experience was something she'd never grow accustomed to - not that she ever wanted to - but if Ruby hadn't reacted to the detonation that quickly...the game would've been over. Adam probably would've been disappointed that she'd _failed_ so easily.

The failed attempts on her life had tipped Adam's hand though. As subtle as trying to kill Blake twice in a span of a few minutes was, it had revealed his true intention. He wanted her dead. He didn't care if that meant he got to kill her personally or watch from afar. As long as she was dead, he would be satisfied. That was the end game.

At least this time the feelings were mutual…

And now that she was rid of that collar she had half a mind to bring the charred remnants with her to shove down his throat.

The sirens grew louder as first responders were now only a couple of blocks away. Checking her scroll, she found another picture waiting for her. This time Weiss' help wasn't needed because she recognized the building immediately. It was an old, abandoned office building used every now and then for White Fang business. It wasn't far, but they had less than twenty minutes to make it there on foot and somehow come up with a plan in the meantime. Because they _did_ need a plan before walking into that building, she was sure of it. Based on the deadline Adam had given, this was going to be where Yang was actually located...along with who knew how many White Fang soldiers and Adam himself.

"What now?" Ruby asked as Blake set them on a fast jog towards their final destination.

"I don't know."

She was trying to think. She needed to think of something he'd missed, overlooked, or underestimated, which was difficult to do when she had hardly any information at all.

The chip of stolen intelligence hidden in her scroll wasn't important enough that she wouldn't hand it over willingly in exchange for Yang's life. But in the end that might not be enough. Even if Blake sacrificed her morals in giving it back to Adam, even if she handed valuable information to someone who would use it for corrupt deeds, it might not be enough to save Yang's life because that wasn't the game they were playing.

"We get there and try to figure something out," she concluded out loud, trying to keep the sting of defeat out of her tone. "If there's no time...then I'll give him what he wants."

"The information?"

"We all know that's not what he really wants."

Blake didn't need to turn to her side to know that Ruby and Weiss exchanged worried glances at that comment.

"But Blake -"

"I _won't_ let him hurt her," she interrupted, hearing the pain in her voice while the mere thought ripped across her heart. But Yang couldn't be hurt. Yang needed to be saved. That was all Blake was absolutely sure of right now.

"We give him the information and hope he lets us all walk out of there. If that's not enough, then I'll give him what he wants...and you two get Yang out of there."

Even though Ruby bit her lip, she remained silent and allowed Blake to take point in this matter. It was a horrible situation and no answer would ever seem right. The silver lining, if there was one, was that Yang would be sedated and unable to fight against Ruby and Weiss dragging her away.

Did that make Blake feel better? Did it make her feel better that Yang wouldn't be able to fight to stay by Blake's side to the very end? Did it make her feel better knowing that Yang would be upset with this decision she'd had no say in? That she'd curse Blake's name while she cried? That Yang would be the one left partnerless...because Blake couldn't stomach the thought of being the one alone?

The choice wasn't Yang's to make right now. Yang would choose selflessly anyway, but Blake was the one who'd made mistakes. Blake was the one with sins left unpaid. She refused to add another by allowing an innocent life to be lost for her sake. So, whatever it took to keep Yang safe, Blake was willing to do - without regard to her own life.

That didn't mean she was giving up. She was still going to try to beat Adam at his own game, but she was prepared for the outcome if he won.

If she wanted to win, she needed to outthink him. He was cunning, intelligent, and ruthless...but also arrogant, boastful, and vindictive. If anything would be his downfall, it would be those things.

Racing through the streets, begging her muscles to give her just a little more speed and a little more distance, she tried to come up with a plan - something, anything, that might get all of them out of this alive. But there were so many unknowns...like how many followers would Adam have? Would they be skillful fighters or new recruits? What would the location be set up like? Where exactly was Yang being held?

If it was a traditional White Fang hangout, popping up in the dead of night and disappearing days later, then there would be guards posted at every possible entrance. If they tried to bring their weapons, the guards would confiscate them. If they fought through the guards, an alarm would alert the building immediately.

The only real option would be to scout thoroughly and find an unintended entrance that could be exploited to sneak in. Next, determine the patrol routes and sneak past them undetected. Find Yang and get her out quietly. The only problem with that solution was that it would take time. Time they didn't have. Again, Adam had taken away their way out.

Her breaths were on the verge of wheezes right now as her lungs begged for relief. The sound of her feet pounding against the pavement didn't slow, however. She refused to slow down, even if it meant she pushed her body past the breaking point.

Think, Blake. Think. Adam knew her well, but she also knew him better than anyone else. He played off of fear...and mistrust. Those were the emotions he'd use against her, making her feel just as boxed in as she currently did. It forced her to respond from a position of unbalance, not knowing who or what she could trust. It was this uncertainty that would prevent her from seeing clearly or reacting to the situation accurately.

The two of them were more similar than Blake would ever care to admit. They relied upon themselves above all else. Even when they'd been working together, they were secretly working apart. There had always been hidden agendas, lies, and a relationship built on something far less than complete trust.

Blake had never known any different, but now she did. The two girls running beside her...the ones who refused to let her do this alone...she trusted them with her life, as wholly and completely as she ever possibly could. No matter how difficult the situation, Blake knew they would have her back - like they did right now. And even though she'd told them to leave her behind and save themselves should the situation call for it, deep down she already knew that they wouldn't honor that request.

They were friends, teammates...family. They would stand together or not stand at all.

That was something Adam didn't have. It was something he couldn't understand. People, to him, were disposable - useful only as long as they had something to offer him. When they no longer had value, they would be cast harshly aside. The Faunus following his orders did so out of fear, not love or loyalty.

So in order to beat him...she would need to rely on something he would never have - and something she'd never thought she would have. Friends. Partners. People she could depend upon. People who would give their lives for her as willingly as she would for them.

 _That_ was his mistake. That was the weakness in his plan. While plotting his vengeance upon Blake, he wouldn't have considered the strength of the bonds she had with her teammates. He wouldn't have calculated the sheer power that can be found when their backs were against the wall, fighting for the ones they loved.

In picking a fight with Blake, he'd picked one with Weiss and Ruby as well. While trying to string Blake along and cause her pain, he'd caused them pain too. He'd caused them anxiety and fear and...anger. In seeking revenge on Blake, he'd earned two new enemies.

If he'd considered them at all in this plan, it would have been to dismiss them. They were _merely_ human. They wouldn't stand by Blake's side to the end. They wouldn't be more than minor hindrances to the ultimate goal.

Weiss, the spoiled, entitled Schnee - what purpose could she possibly have defending a _Faunus?_

Ruby, the useless kid - too young to be of any real concern.

Arrogance would be his weakness. By assuming he knew Blake's teammates, he wouldn't expect from them what Blake knew they were capable of.

An idea began to form in her mind then, something crazy and probably suicidal, but it was worth a shot when they had no other options.

"We're going to need our weapons," she managed to gasp out before groaning. "But they're not in lockers."

They'd left their weapons on the floor of their room, too tired to do anything but.

"Why don't we text Jaune and ask him to get them?" Ruby suggested, still not at all out of breath from the running they'd been doing.

"Adam could be - reading our messages." They'd all need to get new scrolls after this, but didn't exactly have the time to worry about that right now.

"I can text Nora," Weiss suddenly said, slowing to a stop and pulling out her scroll. Gratefully stopping beside her, Blake put her hands on both hips while sucking in air.

"How will that help?" she asked while Weiss thoughtfully tapped out a message. Nora would be about the last person Blake would think to turn to in a moment like this, but it was only when Weiss finished typing that she read the message aloud.

"'Hey Nora - Ruby left some flowers out. Can you put them away? You know where the key is.'"

The message only made Blake more confused. "There's an extra key to our room?"

Lowering the scroll nonchalantly, Weiss slipped out a sly grin.

"No."

Ruby grinned and bobbed her head in understanding while Blake finally caught onto Weiss' plan.

"How sure are you that she'll get that?" she pressed. It was innocuous enough that Adam would have difficulties decoding it in the time they had left, but that also meant it might be impossible for Nora to understand what they needed her to do. If they were going to bring the fight to Adam, it was pretty important for them to have something to fight with.

"Ninety percent," Weiss replied confidently. "Nora isn't exactly the type to be alright with not understanding things."

"I guess ninety percent is better than nothing..." Blake replied. Her mind marked off the weapons as done while she continued to work through the rest of this plan. "Ruby...just how fast can you run?"

When Ruby gave Blake a big grin, Weiss proudly answered on her partner's behalf.

"Pretty damn fast."

Nodding, Blake spurred her legs into motion once more - at a slightly slower speed so she'd have the breath available to explain what they were going to do. If it worked, it would give them the _slightest_ element of surprise. But sometimes that was all that was needed to throw even the best laid plans into disarray.


	7. Chapter 7

"Seven minutes," Blake huffed in exhaustion when the towering building came into view. Neither of her teammates said anything in response while they continued to run in silence.

The sun was starting to dip in the sky and the breeze blowing across the water was cooler than further inland, providing some much needed relief to her overheated limbs. By now it felt like they'd run across the entire city, but they only had a little further to go…

The building was located on the water - one of the many manufacturing centers with direct access to the river. Like the building before, it had been condemned long ago and was now sectioned off from the rest of the world by chain link fencing topped with barbed wire. They weren't going to have to scale this fence, however, since the heavy padlock on the main entrance had already been cut and hung uselessly in place. It was the perfect location - no one would hear what went on inside and it allowed for easy escape by land, water, or air. And, because the building had been designed with the infrastructure of a fortress, with few windows except for those on the river side that were nearly impossible to get to, it was easily defended with sentries and cameras.

It was evident in the air that life teemed inside the tall building in front of them. The closer they drew, the more noises Blake could pick up - voices and movement filtering through the few windows down to them.

This was it.

Dread and apprehension grew in her chest with every step they took towards the front entrance, but it wasn't until she saw the shadow of one of the guards posted out front that she came to a complete stop.

They had five minutes.

"Weiss, maybe you should wait outside," she said, a spike of panic surging through her at the reality of the situation. Everyone in this building would know exactly who Weiss was...and wouldn't take too kindly to her presence. They could very well decide that taking a Schnee hostage would be even better than having Yang. Or worse - that removing a Schnee from existence would be better than collecting a healthy ransom. Did Blake really want to risk both Yang and one of her best friends today?

"You're kidding me, right?" Weiss replied in disbelief. "Do you really think I'm letting you walk in there without me?"

"This is the White Fang, Weiss -"

"I don't care. I'm coming with you." With that, Weiss stomped in front of Blake and marched directly towards the guards by the front entrance. After sharing a look of shock with Ruby, the two of them quickly hurried after their teammate.

Who would've thought that the heiress to the corporation Blake grew up considering to be the representation of everything wrong with the world would become one of her best friends?

"Stop!" one of the White Fang shouted upon seeing Weiss, raising his weapon to point towards her chest.

"We're here for Adam," Blake explained hurriedly while stepping in front of Weiss. Both guards took a good look at her before stepping forward and roughly patting at her sides and back.

"Relax," she snapped, slapping a hand away from her. "Where do you think we hid weapons? We only have our scrolls."

She and Weiss willingly handed over their scrolls to the guards, who took them before gesturing for Ruby's.

"I broke mine!" Ruby replied, just a little too proudly. Thankfully, the White Fang thought nothing of it and opted instead to briefly pat her down before nodding and gesturing through the double doors up ahead.

With Blake walking right behind the lead guard, Weiss fell into step behind her with Ruby and the second guard bringing up the rear. A triple knock and the door opened from the inside, revealing several more armed White Fang members waiting for them.

When the door was pushed wide open, they were shepherded through an abandoned lobby to a bank of elevators that were still operational. A hard metal object shoved into her back when she paused before entering the small box, pushing her forward with her teammates close behind. The guards shuffled in last, facing them with guns still raised.

Watching carefully, Blake noted that they were headed to the seventh floor. Typical. Faunus could have an unhealthy obsession with good luck charms and omens sometimes…

When the elevator jolted into motion, her nerves skyrocketed. She really hoped she hadn't just condemned them all to death.

The elevator ride was tense, but short. After several seconds they slowed to a stop with an inconspicuous 'ding' of arrival. Then the doors slid open and her heart dropped towards her stomach.

There were White Fang _everywhere_ \- standing by nearly every support post, lining the walls, and a larger group somewhere she could hear but not see. Maybe fifty in all. Sixty? More than she'd expected…but was it unmanageable? That depended on their skill level and whether Adam was fighting in their midst. Without Adam, the three of them could handle the White Fang easily. With him…

It was a testament to his growing power that he'd been able to recruit so many volunteers for what was merely a thinly masked personal vendetta. That's what the chip was for, she suddenly realized. That was how he'd gotten them to go along with the plan. Somehow he'd convinced them that the information was extremely valuable and worth the lengths of torture they'd just put her through.

Too late to think about that now - their arrival had drawn everyone's attention in a heartbeat. Voices lowered to whispers while Blake obediently followed one guard out of the elevator and into the large, open room beyond. The floor had been completely emptied of furniture, only being broken up by thick stone pillars extending from floor to ceiling as support beams. The single computer sitting by one of the beams was seriously out of place. The entire wall across from her was one large panel of glass creating a huge window looking out over the river below, but at this time of day the sun was reflecting off the surface and casting a nearly blinding light directly in their eyes.

"Ohh what a _pretty_ kitty," one of the White Fang snickered when Blake walked past.

"That's one _pussy_ I'd love to play with," another said with a smirk.

A flush of anger crept onto her cheeks, but she refused to turn to either side when the White Fang crowded closer to them - mocking and jeering at her.

It wasn't until someone reached out and touched one of her ears that she immediately retaliated. Spinning to the side, she slammed the palm of her hand into the man's nose, hearing a satisfying crack before he screamed in pain. The other guards instantly reacted by taking a step back and aiming rifles right in her face, but a laugh prevented anyone from firing.

Ignoring the guns, Blake turned towards the sickeningly familiar sound and found Adam strolling towards her flanked by at least a dozen more guards. Simply seeing him filled her with fear, panic...and rage. The rage quickly swept away any other emotion - rolling with boiling fury through her veins and pounding like a livid drum in her ears.

"Still as personable as ever," he greeted her, looking rather amused by what she'd just done. The man with the now-broken nose straightened up, one hand covering his face while blood gushed down his chin.

"Don't touch her," Adam hissed before throwing a brutal jab into the man's ribs, sending him back to the ground writhing in pain. Unphased, Adam stepped over him and continued to Blake, who tensed with each inch closer he drew.

"Where's Yang?" she demanded, not finding her partner anywhere in sight but knowing she must be close.

"Where's my information?" he asked in return.

"We have it," she snapped back, annoyed by his continued games. "But I want to see her first."

Smirking, he nodded to one of his men, who scrambled off to another room. Only then did he spare a moment to take in Blake's companions.

"What company you keep," he sneered, giving Weiss a scathing look that the smaller girl returned full force. "Who would've thought a _Schnee_ would have the spine to walk in here."

"She's stronger than you could ever dream of being," Blake immediately retorted, going right for Adam's pride and succeeding, based on how his smirk turned into a leer of distaste.

"Is the _princess_ aware that you helped us hijack several of her family's transports?"

"Fully aware," Weiss cut in curtly, robbing Adam of his attempt to sow dissention between them. "Now could we please get this over with? One of you smells rather foul."

Howls of discontent swept through the nearby White Fang while Adam's scowl deepened. Stiffening, Blake expected to be attacked at any second, but the guards stayed back when Adam held up a hand to regain order. She had to respect Weiss' lack of fear under the circumstances...calling a group of White Fang members "foul" was normally an easy way into the ground. Coming from a member of the family universally regarded as public enemy number one to all Faunus, the insult was particularly offensive.

"Let's see how much you have to say when I've removed the tongue from your mouth," Adam growled while taking several steps towards Weiss. Stepping in front of her teammate, Blake stared up and refused to budge an inch when Adam nearly walked into her. Being this close to him terrified her, but also filled her with nearly uncontrollable anger. With or without Gambol at her side, her hands were itching to claw at his face.

The way his eyes burned down at her revealed his own ire, but after several seconds he straightened his posture.

"So this is what you've become?" he said, voice quiet at first before growing louder - loud enough for everyone to overhear. "The proud, unwavering _Blake Belladonna_. So concerned for our rights, so determined to stand up against _injustice_ , so _loyal_ to the Faunus cause that she sides with the very people who seek to enslave us."

The other Faunus jeered while Adam painted her as a traitor to their very race, humiliating her in front of people she'd once considered to be peers. Even after he stopped talking and sneered at her in self-satisfaction, she struggled to remain calm when she wanted to do nothing more than lash out.

"You can try to belittle me and Weiss all you want," she responded quietly, each word oozing malice. "Just know that I would never leave _her_ behind with an army of Atlesians."

The words had their intended effect, in the form of a palm landing squarely on her cheek. Feeling Weiss surge forward, Blake stuck out an arm to prevent her teammate from making a fatal decision. The stinging brought tears to her eyes, but she refused to raise a hand to her face or turn away from his gaze. The pain only made her angrier - furious beyond anything she'd ever felt before.

"I'm not scared of you," she seethed, drawing him a step closer so that he could tower menacingly over her with teeth partially bared.

"You should be."

A firm grasp on the back of her shirt pulled both her and Weiss away from Adam. Ruby didn't stop tugging until they were standing right beside her and even then didn't let go.

"Man," Ruby said with a nervous chuckle. "You must read a _ton_ of how-to villain books! Like, really, top notch stuff - what with the growly voice and creepy lair and skinny sidekicks...you've got this nailed down!"

Whether it was intentional or not, Ruby's rambling diffused Adam's anger and interest.

"A Schnee and a kid. Some team you have," Adam scoffed before turning towards the other White Fang members for an obligatory laugh.

The dismissal of Ruby was exactly what Blake had been hoping for. It proved that he was far too arrogant to fully consider what her teammates were capable of. Weiss - the 'spoiled, self-centered' heiress was exceptionally intelligent, strategic, and quick-thinking. And Ruby - their 'young, innocent' leader was actually the most deadly with or without a weapon in her hands.

Adam had planned this entire game with only Blake in mind, but she hadn't walked in here alone like she would have in the past. There was strength to be found in friendships, something he would have known if he'd ever had any.

A chair scraping across the barren floor immediately drew everyone's attention back to the elevators. That's where Blake's eyes caught sight of Yang - still unconscious and bound tightly to the chair like a prisoner. Her heart began beating painfully fast in her chest while two men dragged the chair over to where Adam was standing, showing little care or concern for its occupant.

It hadn't felt real before, but it did now. They had Yang, sitting right there in front of Blake, and there was nothing she could do to protect her partner. She didn't even have Gambol by her side to make an attempt on Adam's miserable life.

"Hopefully we didn't overdose her," Adam commented while reaching over and tilting Yang's head up by the chin, the touch sending fire through Blake's veins. When he allowed Yang's head to casually drop, Blake very nearly launched herself at his throat, only held back by the firm grip Ruby still had on the back of her shirt.

"Would be a shame...she's nice to look at. If you're into humans."

When several White Fang chuckled at the insult, Blake scowled.

"Get on with it, Adam. We have your information - let her go and we'll hand it over."

In their situation she wasn't really in the position to be making demands. With no weapons, surrounded by nearly a hundred armed rebels, it probably wasn't the best thing to do. But if they weren't at the endgame yet, she was going to force them there.

"And here I thought you'd want to catch up," Adam replied with sarcasm dripping from his words. "But fine. You can put the chip in that computer over there."

When he gestured towards the computer, Blake didn't move a muscle. Instead, it was Weiss who gestured for her scroll back from the guard who had escorted them in. One of the guards looked at Adam for instruction, to which Adam nodded before turning to grin at Blake. It was easy to see that he was impressed with her own misdirection - giving the information to Weiss when he'd never expected Blake to trust anyone else that much.

While Weiss was in the midst of punching numbers into the computer, Blake stared down Adam.

"You have the information. Now let Yang go and let us leave."

For just a moment, it looked like Adam actually considered her words. But then he took another look at Yang and turned back to Blake with a wicked grin set in place. After snapping his fingers at the guards, Adam grabbed the back of Yang's chair and dragged her away. Blake instinctively tried to step forward only to have several barrels pointed into her chest.

"Change of plans," Adam said while dropping the chair back onto the ground across the room. "I think I'll kill her anyway - just so you can watch."

The moment the words left his mouth, the world slowed down around her - the effect of a surge of adrenaline being released into her bloodstream. It was in slow motion that she watched Adam reach for Wilt - prepared to carry out the execution right then and there. The restraint of Ruby's hand finally disappeared while Blake's ears sharpened in search of something beyond the walls - praying that Weiss had reacted as quickly as she could to the death sentence. Blake's breathing sounded abnormally loud in her ears while her senses strained to hear the sound she knew should be coming...

Adam heard it at the same instant Blake did, but he wasn't able to process it fast enough. Blake had already tapped Ruby's hand - and Ruby disappeared from beside her before Blake's mind could even process the absence. Her own feet burst forward, but seemed to be hardly moving in comparison to the rose petals left in Ruby's wake.

The sound was distinguishable now - the walls of the building ripping and crumbling apart. By the time Adam turned back towards her it was too late - Ruby was already upon him, the miniscule tracking beacon pulled from her dismantled scroll drawing the crashing projectiles directly his way. Dropping his hand, Adam was forced to dive to the side right as three heavy weapon lockers lodged themselves into the floor where he and Ruby had just been. Ruby had abandoned the beacon at Adam's feet and flown past to grab Yang, momentum carrying both of them out of harm's way.

That's when all hell broke loose. Time rapidly caught up to full speed when the White Fang members finally began reacting to what had happened, shouting in confusion while raising their weapons in the air. Blake's feet hit the glyphs on the floor and Weiss' semblance shot her towards the lockers. She caught Gambol Shroud out of the air as Ruby whizzed past her, their leader carrying Crescent Rose and Myrtenaster back to her own partner. Yang had been placed carefully at the corner of the building, but no one was paying attention to one unconscious prisoner when there were suddenly three armed girls on the loose.

The first rounds of gunfire ricocheted off the ceiling, deflected by either Ruby or Weiss. The White Fang members were yelling in fear now, with cries of pain echoing across the open floor.

With Gambol in hand, Blake quickly cut through two guards who hadn't even seen her coming. Leaping into the air while leaving a shadow behind, she dispatched two more while they fired at nothing but air. As soon as her feet hit the ground in relatively open space, she ran to Yang's side - falling to her knees and gently touching Yang's cheek. Furiously checking for any serious injuries, she thankfully found none.

As soon as she determined that Yang was safe, she jumped to her feet and spun to find Adam standing twenty feet away, watching the interaction with a deep scowl set on his face.

"Pathetic."

Whether he meant her, Yang, or a combination of the two, the single word set fire in her veins. When her hand gripped Gambol tightly, he leered at her before turning and sprinting away. Pausing for a half second, she glanced towards her teammates before taking off after him.

"Blake!" she heard Ruby shout from behind her, but she was already entering the stairwell at a full sprint. Ruby and Weiss would be fine without her - they could easily handle all the White Fang and also keep Yang safe.

And Blake couldn't let Adam get away. She was going to end this now. He wouldn't get an opportunity to hurt Yang or one of her teammates ever again.

Chasing an enemy was never a good strategy, especially not when he was leading her away from the battle and teammates who could provide support. But Blake followed anyway, pushed forward by a burning hatred that would not listen to reason.

The pain in her ankle and burning in her calves had to be ignored as she followed Adam up flight after flight of stairs, listening to the rhythmic clang, clang, clang of their boots hitting metal steps. Taking each staircase in two leaps, she'd already lost count of how many flights they'd ascended - five? Ten?

He was headed to the roof.

Thighs burning, she pushed herself to keep going. Even though she tried to make up the distance between them, she wasn't successful in doing anything more than maintaining their current separation. Finally she heard a break in Adam's steps followed by the sound of a heavy door being jammed open. No more than a few seconds later, she'd reached the top and ran through the still open door.

That was her first mistake.

As soon as she passed through the doorway, she heard the sound of a heavy boot thudding against the other side of the door, slamming the hard metal into her. It hit her shoulder with a loud crack, the force knocking her right off her feet and sending her sliding across the concrete roof on her side.

Adrenaline bursting through every cell in her body, she shoved herself backward as fast as possible, leaving a shadow in her place to absorb the clang of metal hitting concrete. There was no time to think as she flipped back to her feet, bringing Gambol down to eye level just in time to block the next attack - one which was announced by a whistle through the air as Wilt hurtled towards her head.

Another loud clang rang out when the two weapons met each other again, her arms buckling under the force behind Adam's blow.

She'd forgotten just how fast and strong Adam was….but there wasn't time to think about that while he rained a flurry of attacks upon her. There was nothing she could do but concentrate on blocking each one, always on the defensive.

There was no way she'd be able to survive the torrent for long. He would wear her down until she was defenseless. She needed to find an opening...no matter how small.

Using the environment to her advantage, she began to cede ground to him - allowing him to slowly push her towards the edge of the building. Each blow that rippled off of Gambol set her back another step, then another, and another. Pretty soon she could sense the ledge right behind her - the most precarious position anyone could be in. Knowing this, Adam pushed aggressively towards her, and Blake deflected one more blow before coiling her legs and jumping.

As the clone fell over the edge of the building into nothing, Blake catapulted overtop of Adam and landed behind him. The moment was brief, but her semblance had caused just enough confusion for Adam's next strike to be a split second delayed. Positioning Gambol perfectly, she was able to catch Wilt between sword and sheath and kicked one side violently. The blow ripped the weapon from Adam's hand and sent it skidding across the rooftop while Blake dove out of the way of loud shotgun blasts.

One, two, three, four shots she dodged before kicking back towards Adam. Sending a shadow directly in his face, she swept around to the side and fell to her knees to slide underneath Blush. When the weapon began to track her real movements, she popped back to her feet and wrapped a ribbon around the barrel to tear the gun away.

Blush pulled free too easily - and Blake was too late seeing the counterattack careening towards her hand. A heavy boot connected across her knuckles and sent Gambol clattering to the ground. When she reacted by swinging the sheath towards Adam's neck, he managed to snatch her by the arm and twisted it harshly while she howled in pain.

She was forced to drop her weapon or hear her wrist snap, but as the sheath fell towards the ground she swung her left leg and connected with the edge of it - sending it shooting forward towards Adam's thigh. It would have speared him had he not dropped her arm and stepped out of the way just in time.

Before, being weaponless would have been her cue to run, but not anymore. With a scream of pure rage she barreled towards him, prepared to dismantle him with her bare fists. The briefest look of surprise crossed his face before he was forced to react, raising his hands to block the right hook she leveled at his jaw. Then a knee towards his hip - a shadow while she ducked under his arm and threw another jab towards his gut.

She hadn't spent the last two years sparring with the best brawler at Beacon and not learned how to hold her own in a fist fight.

Following up with another punch and a kick, she struggled to keep him off balance while also pinpointing her weapons on the ground. Adam made a grab towards her and she left a clone in her place, spinning around his hands and landing two quick blows in his rib cage that made him grunt in pain. Next was a swift kick to the other side, but he purposefully allowed the blow to connect in order to lock his arm down over her leg and twist her roughly to the side.

A cry of pain and surprise slipped out as she was torn from her feet and sent tumbling to the ground - but this time he never let go. Still grasping her ankle tightly, he yanked her forward as his knee came crashing down into her chest - knocking the air from her lungs. Before she could regain her breath, his hand was around her throat. Leaning down, his fingers dug into her neck while she clawed viciously at his arm, trying to find air.

He withstood her attacks willingly, even as his arm was laced with red welts. It was only when her vision darkened and she was on the very of passing out that she managed to dig her nails deep into his hands and draw out a cry of pain. Angry, he yanked her back to her feet. The pressure against her throat relieved just long enough for her to take a gasp of air before she couldn't breathe again.

Spinning her around before she could slip away, he put her into the fiercest chokehold she'd ever been in. One of his arms was pressing steadily into her neck, blocking access to oxygen. Clawing at his arm, his face, anything she could reach, she had no effect in bringing more air to her lungs. As she grew more and more desperate, he merely chuckled at her futile attempts to free herself from his iron grasp.

This couldn't be how she was going to die.

' _Don't panic, Blake - you know I'd never hurt you, right?'_

' _I...know, but...can't...'_

"You betrayed me, Blake," he whispered, lips grazing her ear. "You deserve to die."

Adam was dragging her backwards now, her feet hardly touching the ground while he marched her towards the edge of the building. Digging her fingers into his arm to no avail, there was nothing she could do to alleviate the increasing pressure on her trachea. As her brain was starved of air, her vision was beginning to darken around the edges. Still, she had enough wherewithal to know what he was going to do next.

He was going to suffocate her. Then he was going to throw her off the rooftop.

' _You can't breathe. You're blacking out - but you have another twenty seconds before you'll lose consciousness.'_

' _nnn...'_

' _Focus, Blake - remember what I taught you - you can do this.'_

Relaxing her muscles, she slowed her struggle - two of the most counterintuitive actions she could make under the circumstances. Her brain screamed at her to keep fighting! Fighting was the only way to breathe! But she resisted the innate drive to survive and weakly grasped at Adam's arm. The blackness was encroaching...looking more welcoming by the second...but if she could just do what Yang had taught her...

Believing that she was on the cusp of unconscious, Adam lowered her and placed a parting kiss between her ears.

The instant her feet touched the ground, she sprang into action. Grabbing onto Adam's arm with both hands, she summoned the last of her energy to pull at his arm while crushing one heel down into the top of his foot. She heard the cracks as her boot broke the tiny interconnected bones before she threw an elbow into his gut - cutting off his yelp of pain by knocking the wind from his lungs.

In surprise his grip loosened, allowing her to draw her other elbow all the way up and around to connect with his jaw. The blow sent him stumbling backward just far enough for her to spin and level a kick into his chest, creating more separation between them.

Rolling to the side, she had Wilt in her hand by the time he'd recovered and rushed back at her. His fist grazed past her ear, crashing through her clone while she leapt to her feet and seamlessly jabbed with Wilt. Feeling resistance, she coiled her muscles, leapt, and planted both heels into his chest while ripping the weapon free. Droplets of blood splattered across the ground as Adam staggered to the edge of the roof, clutching his abdomen in shock.

Wilt dripped blood while she held the weapon at the ready, breathing heavily and prepared for another attack. But his back was against the wall - or lack thereof - and now she had the better positioning...and the weapon. The fight was over - she'd won.

But still, he smirked at her.

"Learned some new tricks, have you," he snarled, pressing one hand to the increasingly wet portion of his cloak while tilting weight away from his newly broken foot.

"No thanks to you," she shot back. Holding the weapon out, she approached him carefully - ready and waiting for any trick he might try to pull. Instead, he put one arm behind his back and leaned against the ledge of the building, keeping the other on his still bleeding wound and letting slip a wince of agony.

"So this is how you'll repay me for all I've done for you."

The comment stopped her progress and filled her with rage and indignation.

"All you've done for me?" she asked incredulously

"I picked you up off the street!" he yelled at her, a grimace of pain doing nothing to lessen his anger. "You'd already be dead if it wasn't for me! I taught you how to survive!"

"You taught me how to kill!" she shouted back at him. "You taught me how to hate. How to destroy lives of the innocent and guilty alike!"

Her words made him scoff, as if killing indiscriminately shouldn't be that big of a deal.

"I thought you wanted to help our kind."

"I do! But not at the expense of innocent lives."

"The world needs to be reborn -"

"No! The world can be fixed! There are _good_ people who can fix it!"

There were kind, compassionate people in the world - all of their professors, Team JNPR, CFVY, Ruby, Weiss, Yang…humans who saw Faunus as equals. Humans who were willing to live with a Faunus, laugh with them, befriend them, fall in love with them...

Beacon had turned out to be just that for her - a beacon of hope for reform led by the next generation of huntsmen. There was hope in the way Faunus haters and discriminators were openly put in their place by human supporters - like how it had only taken one hit from Coco's designer handbag for Cardin to never speak of Velvet's ears again. Things were _already_ changing. Led by good people with good hearts...there was hope.

Taking a deep breath, Blake knew that this argument was going nowhere and would accomplish nothing. Adam had already judged the human race and found them guilty, sentencing them to death.

"Can't you see that?" she asked futilely, one last effort to reach the idealist she'd met all those years ago. They had once shared the same vision - Faunus and humans living side-by-side. Coexisting. Somewhere along the way that had changed...and instead he wanted to eliminate humans all together.

The way he stared back at her, jaw set in stone, was all the answer she needed. He would never leave his bloodthirsty methods behind. He would never accept a world where humans existed in any form other than abject slavery.

And she couldn't allow a person like that to live any longer.

"I'm sorry," she finally whispered, using a ribbon to pull Gambol back into her hand before tossing Wilt onto the rooftop behind her. As the weapon clattered against the ground, she swung Gambol down to her side at the ready. Adam didn't move a muscle, but she could read disbelief creeping into his expression when it dawned on him what she was about to do.

It had to be done. Her only sense of regret was for the person he'd once been...but that boy had died many years ago.

Raising Gambol in her arms, the blade ready to strike justice, she aimed towards his heart. Taking one last look into his eyes, she expected to find fear or possibly regret, but not the self-satisfied smirk he was aiming her way.

"Kill me then," he hissed at her before resuming that same smirk. She hated that smirk. She always had. Fitting it would be the last thing he ever did.

Undeterred, her arm summoned the energy to strike death in one blow - unwilling to risk retaliation. As she took one step closer, she felt the disturbance in the air the same moment he did. Then the wind and roses.

"Blake!"

The sound of her name broke through her hardened determination as footsteps crashed through the door to the rooftop.

"Blake, don't!"

Her resolve weakened as her eyes flitted behind her to make sure it was actually Ruby running towards her. Her gaze was away from Adam for less than a second, but when her attention turned back he was already overtop the ledge before disappearing. Rushing to the edge where he'd just been, Blake looked down in time to see a dark figure hit the water with a splash.

Her eyes scanned every bit of the river in search of Adam bobbing back to the surface, but after several long minutes there was nothing - not even a trail of bubbles marking his existence. Still she scoured for signs of life, an inescapable feeling growing in her chest the longer she found none.

Could he even swim?

"Come on," Ruby said, taking Blake's hand and gently pulling her away from the edge. "We need to get back downstairs."

With one last glance at the tranquil river, Blake finally turned away. There was nothing but a pool of blood and one bloody handprint on the ledge of the rooftop to mark the battle that had just been waged.

Well, nothing but the blood and the heat in Blake's neck from where he'd choked her. The pain in her wrist, her ankle, her rapid breaths still trying to replenish oxygen. Her exhaustion, her overwhelming torrent of conflicting emotions…

"Everything's ok," Ruby assured her with the same comforting voice and softened eyes Yang often used.

Was it ok though? How could it possibly be ok without Adam lying dead on the rooftop? How could they ever possibly be safe when he might still be out there, somewhere?

"It's ok," Ruby repeated, stepping forward and offering Blake her sheath. "Yang's waiting for you."

Taking a deep breath, Blake nodded once and accepted her weapon from Ruby before trudging towards the staircase. When her foot caught the handle of Wilt by the door, it sent the weapon sliding across the rooftop with a loud clatter that rattled her nerves.

Pausing to consider the blade, she stared at the line of blood shimmering along its surface.

She was stronger than before - that's why it would be ok. Their lives as huntresses would always carry danger, but they were so much stronger than they'd been when they'd first showed up at the steps of Beacon's grand doors. Provoking them wasn't something to be taken lightly. Toying with them wasn't a _game_.

Of course Adam wouldn't allow Blake to win by her own hand. Of course he wouldn't allow her the satisfaction of victory. He'd much rather turn the board over and scatter the pieces all over the floor than ever admit she'd bested him.

Sliding her eyes back to Ruby, who flashed an encouraging smile, Blake didn't bother picking Wilt up. Instead, she followed Ruby into the staircase to make their way back to the seventh floor. That chapter of her life had been completed...again. Now she could get back to her present story. Now she could get back to Yang.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for my relative absence - I posted the last two chapters while out of town so didn't add A/Ns. But welcome to the last chapter! You made it! Ok technically there's another short chapter after this one...but this is the last of the story, story. :)**

* * *

The descent down the staircase seemed to take twice as long as the rapid sprint up. It didn't help that her tender ankle was crying out in pain every other step while all her other muscle groups protested loudly. She was so tired...all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and fall asleep on one of the stairs, but she needed to get back to Yang - she needed to get Yang home safely.

They'd barely made it through the stairwell door before Ruby rushed ahead to check on Weiss and Yang, leaving Blake behind to move at her slow pace. She'd only managed to make it down one flight by herself before Ruby returned and held out an arm to help Blake hop down the steps without using her bad ankle.

"Take it easy - don't rush," Ruby encouraged softly. Little did she realize how close Blake was to running completely empty of energy.

"Is everyone ok?" she murmured while dropping down several more steps. If Ruby was here, Blake had to believe that meant the lower level had been fully secured.

"Everyone's fine. Are _you_ ok?"

The small laugh stung at Blake's tender throat while she shook her head.

"I will be once we get home."

"We'll be there soon," Ruby replied. Ever patient, she was willing to walk down the stairs as slowly as Blake needed...it was Blake who kept pushing herself harder than she should. But she needed to get to Yang. She needed to see for herself that Yang was ok.

Her breathing was growing heavy again as the two of them took the stairs as quickly as possible. If only she had Ruby's semblance...then she could flash down the steps without breaking a sweat.

"You know that you shouldn't chase, right?" Ruby asked tentatively after a few stories had passed in silence. It was as much of a chastise as she would ever give one of her teammates, but Blake felt the meaning in full.

"I know, Ruby. I'm sorry," she replied earnestly.

Bobbing her head, Ruby turned and gave Blake a smile - not one to hold a negative emotion for long.

"Don't worry about it. Just wanted to make sure - ya know, for next time!"

Thankfully everything had turned out fine, but Blake's decision had made the battle more treacherous than it needed to be - especially for herself. If she'd stayed with her teammates, if she'd ignored Adam's taunts, they could have easily dispatched all of the White Fang while Adam escaped unharmed into the night. Apparently Blake still had some learning to do when it came to not relying solely upon herself...

It didn't matter now. What's done was done and everything had turned out fine - this time. It was definitely an area where she needed to improve, however. It would help with Adam out of the picture.

Although she couldn't even be sure what had happened to him after he'd jumped from the rooftop. A part of her whispered in a hushed voice that he had died, swallowed by the river or succumbing to his wounds. Another part firmly believed that he was still alive, but there was none of the familiar dread attached to that reality.

Finally reaching the seventh floor, Ruby held the door open and offered her hand to Blake, but this time she politely declined. What she needed right now wasn't help - she needed Yang.

It was immediately evident upon leaving the staircase that the battle had been fought and completely lost by the White Fang. Unconscious and moaning Faunus were lying in a loose group towards the windows while a pile of their weapons was stacked on the other side of the room. The only people still standing were Weiss and -

"Professor Goodwitch?" Blake exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the woman standing at very strict attention near the White Fang members, eyes passing over each and every one as if daring them to try to escape.

"When she showed up the rest of the White Fang ran," Ruby explained in a hushed voice. "Apparently she tracked us down as soon as we called our lockers."

The professor made eye contact with Blake, accompanied by a very stern gaze that normally preceded a firm scolding. This time, however, Professor Goodwitch merely nodded her head towards the other side of the room where Weiss was kneeling by Yang's side.

Breaking into a smile at the sight of Yang, safe and sound, Blake rushed over with wings on her feet. The restraints that had been clasped around Yang's arms and ankles had already been removed and now lay discarded on the floor in a heap. And Yang...her eyes were barely open, but she was awake.

"Yang!" Blake called out as relief flooded through her. Running the last few steps, she dropped to her knees in front of her partner and looked up into lilac colored eyes, grasping both of Yang's hands in her own.

"Blake…" Yang slurred slightly, but still managed one of those smiles that made Blake feel like she was made of gold. "Missed...you."

Tears immediately welled in her eyes as she leaned forward, wrapped both arms around Yang's neck, and buried her face in soft hair.

"I missed you too," she mumbled in Yang's ear before pulling away in favor of giving Yang the kiss they should have shared last night - long, deep, and not concerned in the slightest with whoever else might be watching. It didn't matter if Yang was too drowsy to fully kiss back - by the time Blake pulled away a laugh of pure relief slipped out. Tucking a few stray strands of hair behind Yang's ear, Blake gave her partner one more quick kiss. "I missed you too…" she repeated in a whisper while tenderly running her fingers across Yang's bruised eye. "So, so much."

Hugging Yang again, one warm arm wrapped loosely around Blake's shoulder in return. Closing her eyes, she savored the feeling of having Yang within her grasp once more. This was it - this was the feeling that she kept coming back for. It filled her with warmth, happiness, love…

She could have stayed there forever if the sound of heels clicking towards them hadn't forced her to look up.

"You certainly know how to get into trouble," Professor Goodwitch clipped at them before her expression softened. "The authorities are already on their way to collect the White Fang. I'll explain to them what happened, so you can get your teammate to the infirmary. You can take my personal transport back."

The three of them exchanged surprised glances at the generous offer, which made Professor Goodwitch twitch her switch in impatience. Sensing the urgency, they jumped to their feet at once and prepared to leave.

"Professor," Blake called out and hobbled over before the woman could walk away. "Their leader - he jumped from the roof into the river -"

"We'll find him," Professor Goodwitch answered before Blake could finish the question, giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry."

Relieved, Blake made to turn away before remembering something else.

"One of the things he wanted was this chip," she explained, pulling the tiny piece of plastic from its spot hidden deep in one of her pockets, where it had been all along. Without a second thought she handed it over to Professor Goodwitch, who took it with a glance of curiosity. "I think...it's probably best for you and Professor Ozpin to have that."

At this point she couldn't even remember what was stored on the device, but she didn't need the information anymore. More than that, she didn't want the responsibility of its safekeeping either. Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch could decide what should be done with it - whether it would be stored safely away or destroyed, whichever they deemed best.

Satisfied with that decision, Blake turned back to her teammates with another weight lifted from her shoulders. Their general mood was now far lighter than it had been in what felt like a lifetime.

"Can we find out what they gave her? I kind of like her like this," Weiss joked, poking Yang playfully in the cheek and receiving absolutely no retaliation.

"Ha ha very...funny…" Yang mumbled. "I can still...kick your…"

Leaning forward in anticipation, Weiss grinned when Yang's words faded away, the girl's head drooping once again.

"Kick my what, Yang? Sorry, think I missed that last part."

Weiss giggled and stepped easily to the side when Yang flailed one of her arms, nearly knocking Blake over in the process.

"Woah there tiger," Blake murmured, taking one of Yang's hands to steady her in the chair. "Let's leave the Weiss beating for another day, hmm?"

When Yang made a soft 'mm' in reply, Blake looked from where they were currently standing to the elevators they needed to take to the lower level. The elevators all the way on the other side of the building...

"Ruby and I can pick her up, I think," she said, looking at Ruby for confirmation. When Ruby shrugged and nodded her head, Blake swung one of Yang's arms around her shoulder while Ruby did the same. At the same moment, they lifted Yang to her feet with grunts of effort.

"Jeez Yang, how much do you weigh?" Ruby huffed while taking several steps forward with effort.

"All muscle…" Yang mumbled, which only made Weiss laugh.

"Well, your 'muscle' is weighing down your girlfriend right now..."

"I'm fine," Blake managed to say, breaths heavier than normal while she tried to both support Yang and keep too much weight off of her bad ankle.

"Maybe we could just drag her?" Ruby suggested, although Blake wasn't entirely sure if that was supposed to be a joke or not.

"Oh for Grimm's sake," Weiss finally said in exasperation before grabbing the chair and pulling it back in front of them. "Sit her back down."

Sharing a quick look, Ruby and Blake carefully set Yang back in the chair like Weiss had directed.

"Alright, now Ruby, you push and Blake, make sure she doesn't fall off the chair or something."

A line of glyphs appeared on the floor in front of them and Blake blushed in embarrassment at her complete failure to consider using Weiss' semblance. That one she would chalk up to be completely sleep deprived and beyond exhausted.

"We...probably shoulda thought of that, huh?" Ruby remarked sheepishly before stepping forward and carefully pushing the chair onto the first glyph. It slid across the ground with ease, as if the floor had turned to a sheet of ice.

"Honestly...how you continue to forget that I can _move things_..." Weiss mumbled to herself while walking along beside them. Reaching the elevators quickly and nearly effortlessly, Weiss jabbed the button in mild indignation.

"Thank you, Weiss!" Ruby chirped happily before sliding Yang into arriving elevator. When Yang was safely inside, Ruby rushed back to Weiss for the quickest peck on the cheek. "We're so lucky to have you on our team!"

When Weiss' cheeks turned a soft shade of pink, Blake gave her teammate a knowing look. No matter how hard Weiss tried to stay annoyed, Ruby was able to cut through any irritation with the simplest of actions. The effect worked much to Weiss' consternation, who puffed out her cheeks in obstinance before finally giving up and smiling.

"Come on, let's go home."

A short elevator ride and several glyphs later they were all squeezed into the personal transport Glynda had left beyond the fence. Unlike the airships used by students to move around, personal transports were the vehicles for important persons who needed to travel around quickly and efficiently. And this one was quite fancy to boot.

"Man, Nora's gonna be soooo jealous when she hears about this!" Ruby giggled while closing the door and strapping herself into one of the seats. "We need to take a picture as proof! Oh crap...I broke my scroll! Weiss, let me use yours? Pleaseeee?"

Paying little attention to Ruby's energetic chatter, Blake wrapped an arm around Yang's shoulders and pulled her close while Weiss programmed their flight back to Beacon. Yang was still drifting in and out of consciousness, but was clearly struggling to stay awake for their sake.

"You can go to sleep now," Blake whispered into Yang's ear, wrapping both arms around her in a sideways hug. "We'll be home soon."

A warm sigh swept across Blake's neck right when the transport shot into the sky, leaving the streets of Vale behind. Once in the air Yang seemed to relax even more, her body melding together with Blake's in a way that had seemed too perfect even before they'd started dating.

With the city falling away, Blake didn't even bother looking outside the window. Everything she needed was right here with her...finally.

"I can't wait to tell Team JNPR what we did!" Ruby exclaimed happily, cringing when Weiss made a shushing noise. "What? She can't hear me if she's sleeping!"

"What kind of logic is that?" Weiss asked in a loud whisper.

"Leader logic!"

"Don't try to play the 'leader logic' card on me again. We both know who's the most logical here."

"Yeah? Well you're also the most adorable!"

"What? How is that even an argument?"

Lightly shaking her head in amusement, Blake closed her eyes and smiled while Weiss sputtered. They were both lucky that Yang was sleeping...otherwise they'd be in for more than their share of big sister embarrassment for the playful bickering.

With Yang breathing softly against her neck, Blake drifted in and out of sleep while the small ship flew them swiftly back to Beacon. It was anything but restful, however. Every slight bump of wind jolted her awake with her heart racing - her nerves still live wires of anxiety.

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see Beacon…" Weiss commented quietly when the sprawling campus came into view. Staring out the window as the buildings grew larger and larger, Blake completely understood the feeling. Even though it might be misguided, Beacon felt...safe. At least, _safer_. Especially in comparison to the day they'd just endured.

When they flew over the main airship landing Blake realized that Weiss must have directed the ship to take them directly to the infirmary building, which was reachable directly by airship. This was just another example of an oversight on Blake's behalf that Weiss had considered without a second thought. That was another reason why they were so lucky to have Weiss on their team.

As the ship touched down and the hatch opened up, a cold gust of air blew into the cabin that caused Yang to stir from her slumber. Glancing down, Blake caught a glimpse of lilac peeking out sleepily.

"We're home," she whispered, kissing Yang on the top of her head before standing. "We'll carry her out?" Blake directed to Ruby, who nodded and stepped over to help lift Yang out of her seat.

Thankfully, the two of them only had to struggle a few steps out of the ship before a nurse came rushing out to help them. The man relieved Blake of Yang's arm and helped Ruby hobble their partner into the building. Following closely behind, Blake saw that the school doctor and a second nurse were already waiting inside the doors.

"You can put her in here," the doctor said, directing Ruby and the nurse into one of the rooms inside the door. The second nurse let Yang pass before walking directly up to Blake.

"Let's see that ankle -"

"I'm fine," Blake replied on instinct, brushing around the woman in order to stay close to Yang's side.

"If you're fine, then I'm a Schnee princess," the woman replied before turning to Weiss with a look of concern. "How are you doing, sweetie?"

"I'm alright, thank you," Weiss answered politely. "A few bumps and bruises, but nothing serious."

"You can wait here," the doctor instructed them, gesturing towards the row of seats lining the waiting room. Panic immediately resurfaced in Blake's chest at the idea of being separated from Yang so soon.

"Wait," she called out, causing the woman to pause and turn back to her. "Could you leave the door open?"

Her wrinkled brow suggested that the request was unorthodox, but she nodded anyway and walked into the room without closing the door. Relaxing substantially, Blake sat in the chair that would give her a direct line of sight into the room - allowing her to see Yang clearly while the doctor and nurse walked around her, setting up to draw blood and check her vitals.

At least, she _could_ see Yang until the second nurse stood directly in her line of sight.

"Ankle. Now," the woman demanded, pulling a chair over and motioning for Blake to comply. Sighing, she obediently extended her leg and leaned over to one side. As long as she could still see Yang, it was fine.

"You really tweaked this, didn't you…" the woman muttered, feeling softly for fractures. "Not broken, that's good," she determined before fitting an ice sleeve over Blake's heel and fastening it tightly. "Alright - you know the drill. Off in twenty minutes."

As much as Blake didn't want to admit it, the ice felt heavenly against her ankle. "Thank you," she said quietly before the nurse could walk off, earning a pleasant 'mhmm' in return before Ruby walked back into the room.

"And you?" The woman lifted up Ruby's hands to look at the myriad small cuts that had already stopped bleeding. "You look like you've jumped through a bushel of thorns."

"Close! A glass window!" Ruby answered with a grin. The nurse chuckled at the enthusiasm.

"Anything else hurt?" When Ruby shook her head, the nurse nodded and walked away to check on other patients.

Suddenly left alone, Ruby sat beside Weiss and didn't say a word. None of them spoke at all, more than content to sit there in exhausted silence for the time being. Blake's feet rejoiced in being able to sit down. At this point, she never wanted to stand again. Everything hurt or ached. Her ankle was beginning to numb, but her throat refused to stop throbbing, hot with blood rushing to create what she suspected would be some wonderfully colored bruises by the morning. Her eyelids drooped once before she jarred away from sleep and blinked rapidly before fixating her eyes on Yang laying on the bed not thirty feet away.

The solitude was relatively short lived. The sound of another door opening drew her attention away from Yang to find that Professor Ozpin was walking into the lobby to find them. When they moved to stand up, he waved at them to remain seated.

"I'm glad to see you were able to find her," he said while calmly sitting in the chair across from them and resting both hands atop his cane. "Professor Goodwitch has informed me of what happened. She's taken care of everything with the authorities and the White Fang involved have been taken into custody. Your statements will be needed later, but you'll be able to record them here and send them in electronically."

The news made Weiss let out a sigh of relief, while Blake realized that she'd never even considered what sort of legal trouble they could have been getting into. Thankfully, their professors had already taken care of most of that discussion. Police and her...didn't really get along so well. It didn't help that even though they knew nothing of her past, they still treated her like a criminal. Recording her statement in full, at Beacon, would be a far better experience for everyone involved.

"What about -" she began to ask, her words faltering when Professor Ozpin's eyes met hers.

"Their leader was fished out of the river and is being taken directly to a maximum security facility as we speak. Glynda is personally overseeing his incarceration."

The answer made Blake sit back in her seat, flooded by conflicting emotions. A part of her was upset Adam was still alive, but another part of her was...relieved. How could she possibly be relieved that he'd survived? He'd tried to kill her more than once. He'd threatened to kill Yang and her entire team.

But if he was alive, that meant...Ruby had prevented Blake from becoming what Adam had always wanted her to be - a cold blooded killer.

When an enemy was defeated, when they were wounded and unable to fight back, a killer still took their life. In this case, it would have been justified. No one would have questioned her decision, but there would always be a lingering voice in the back of her mind that reminded her that she'd struck down an enemy who was defenseless. Was that victory? Or vengeance?

It wasn't her place to sentence him to death, but it was within her power to grant him mercy - the same mercy she'd always wished him to show.

Maybe she was relieved because...it meant that she and Adam weren't the same after all.

Unfortunately, it also meant that the game wasn't over. If anything, it would end in a stalemate - with Adam living out the rest of his days in prison. Even if he managed to get out, he would have to think twice about coming after her again. She was no longer the same girl who'd left him on that train. She'd grown stronger - and she'd picked up some incredible friends along the way.

"He won't be able to harm you again," Professor Ozpin added, speaking to Blake directly.

"I know," she replied confidently, giving him a nod that he returned with a hint of a smile before using his cane to push himself to his feet.

"Make sure you get plenty of rest. Tomorrow will be a new day," he said while walking out the way he'd just come. The three of them stared after the man until the doctor came back into the room to speak with them. They hadn't needed to see Yang for very long, which Blake immediately took to be a good sign.

"A few cuts and bruises," the doctor announced, distractedly signing some form the nurse handed over before continuing. "Whatever they gave her should flush out of her system overnight. We're running tests to see what it was, but my money's on a very potent tranquilizer. Other than that, she's just fine. Right now all she needs is sleep."

"Can we see her?" Blake wasted no time asking. If the answer was no, she already knew that she would just sneak into the room from the outside window - but when the doctor nodded, she sighed in relief and walked into the room with her teammates in tow.

Ruby immediately took a running jump onto Yang's bed, landing with a bounce that managed to wake her sister up.

"Yang! I'm so glad you're ok!" Ruby exclaimed while throwing both arms around her sister's neck. "I was so worried!"

"I'm just fine…" Yang replied sleepily, reaching out another hand to Blake to call her closer. Taking Yang's hand, Blake didn't say anything right away - she didn't know if she _could_ say anything without breaking into tears of relief. Of course, Ruby felt no such need to remain silent.

"You'll never guess what we did!" she began with overflowing energy. "Blake went into this super creepy cave and told us to wait outside. But then Weiss sneezed and all these Nevermores appeared! And then Ursa were everywhere! We yelled for Blake to hurry up and she comes _flying_ out of the cave with an entire _army_ of Deathstalkers chasing after her! We're running and running and can't lose them - then...we jump off a _gigantic_ waterfall! Ursa are falling all around us, the Nevermores try to scoop us out of the sky. We hit the water and splash! It's soooo cold. I swam to shore and Weiss was right beside me. We turn around and this _giant_ water Grimm is snapping up Ursa like they're goldfish! Like nom, nom, nom with this _huge_ tail -"

Somewhere in the middle of Ruby's rant, Yang's eyes found Blake's. Light purple and slightly drowsy, Yang still managed to convey more with a simple look than many people could with words. Ruby didn't seem to notice that Yang wasn't fully paying attention - their leader content with getting the events of the day off of her chest in one fell swoop. And Blake was perfectly happy to just stare into Yang's eyes and struggle to express how worried she'd been and how relieved she was now.

Eventually even Ruby ran out of words when the day caught up to her, drifting off into a tired silence while sitting at the end of Yang's temporary bed. It was only then that Blake spoke up.

"You guys should head back," she suggested quietly, not failing to notice how Weiss was beginning to nod off in her seat. "I'm going to stay here tonight."

"Okkkk." Sliding off the bed, Ruby stretched and let out a big yawn. "Goodnight, Blake!"

When Ruby walked over to give Blake a hug, she gladly accepted it. She'd never had siblings of her own, but Ruby could easily be her sister. And Weiss...Blake smiled and accepted a hug from Weiss as well, patting the Schnee heiress twice on the back in silent thanks for being her friend and unceasing supporter.

Tired, relieved smiles were shared once more before the pair took their leave.

"I think we should shower first..." Weiss commented while they walked out the door. "Because _we_ smell rather foul."

When the door closed on Ruby's giggle, the room was so quiet that Blake could hear her heart beating - still at a pace faster than normal. Regardless of her relief being back at Beacon, she remained on edge - her senses on high alert while her brain remained convinced that Yang was in danger.

A warm hand reached out and firmly grasped hers, pulling Blake out of her worry.

"Blake."

Sleepy lilac eyes were watching her closely...Yang obviously struggling to fight off sleep in order to stay awake with her.

"Yang, you can go to sleep now," Blake replied, running her free hand lightly through Yang's hair. "You're safe."

"Not without you…" Yang patted the bed beside her meaningfully.

Understanding what was being requested, Blake stood and lifted herself carefully into the bed with Yang scooting backwards to make room. Two strong arms immediately pulled Blake forward, drawing her into Yang's warm collarbone. A content sigh almost immediately passed her lips. Even when Yang was drugged, being held in her arms made Blake feel so...safe. Secure.

"I think...I destroyed...your favorite store."

Blake chuckled at Yang's concern for the bookstore that had nearly been leveled.

"I think they'll rebuild," she whispered back, snuggling closer while Yang's warmth began to seep into her sore muscles.

"What happened to your neck...?"

Lifting one hand, Blake briefly touched the tender skin that continued to throb where Adam had been holding her. One of Yang's hands reached up and clasped around Blake's, causing her to forget about the pain and intertwine her fingers with Yang's instead.

"I...got to use those moves you taught me - to get out of a chokehold."

The response brought a growl of fury from Yang's throat, the sound reverberating through her chest to Blake.

"Hope you broke his foot…" Yang mumbled, fighting mightily against the drug lulling her back to sleep.

"Pretty sure I did." The reply earned a satisfied hum, but Blake directed her thoughts away from the subject, not wanting to remember any more of what Adam had put them through.

"Hey, what did you go to the bookstore for?"

"Gift...of course."

The answer made Blake smile. She'd guessed that Yang was being extra thoughtful. That's just how amazing she was…

"Was a book...on pirates…"

"Pirates?" she asked in surprise, hearing another soft 'mhmm' from Yang's lips.

"Supposedly...very romantic…"

The idea of a romantic pirate story made Blake laugh out loud, which made Yang let out a small chuckle as well.

"Main character...peg leg," Yang added, which only made Blake laugh harder, the sound working wonders in lifting her mood.

"I'll gladly read it," she finally replied with a chuckle of her own. Yang could hand Blake a book on the different types of mold right now and she would willingly read it cover to cover. Plus, this sounded like a humorous romance more than anything else, and she could certainly use some humor in her life now.

"Will have to find it again," Yang mumbled as she tugged Blake closer. "Chucked it...into some goon's face."

Laughing again, Blake snuggled into Yang's chest in an effort to absorb as much of her partner's warmth as physically possible. After several seconds of silence Yang's breathing grew deeper, with each breath passing gently across Blake's cat ears and sending a tiny tickle shivering down her spine.

Thinking that Yang must have finally drifted back to sleep, Blake closed her eyes and focused on the warmth enveloping her, the contentedness layering across her skin, and the happiness rebuilding in her heart. As she did so, her iron grip on her inhibitions loosened enough that the next breath she took was accompanied by a small rumble running through her chest.

Yang let out a soft 'hmm...' and pulled Blake in until they were molded together - successfully causing more and more rumbles to slip out. Within a few seconds the sound seemed to lull Yang into a deep sleep - her breathing growing deeper with every exhale. Still Blake purred and purred - a sound she would only do and sometimes couldn't help but do in Yang's presence.

" _You know, you kinda make this...sound...whenever you're really happy."_

" _What type of sound?"_

" _I dunno, it's kinda like a...cute little rumble."_

" _You mean like a purr?"_

" _Well, yeah, sorta."_

" _God, that's embarrassing…"_

" _No! It's so adorable - I love it. Almost...almost as much as I love you."_

"I love you, Yang" she whispered to the sleeping girl while another purr rolled through her chest and sleep finally began to claim her. "More than anything..."


	9. Chapter 9

**We've reached the end of this story! Thank you all for reading this story, for favoriting/following/reviewing/etc. I really appreciate all the shows of support because without them I probably wouldn't bother spending all of the time getting these stories together. So thank you!**

 **I just began editing another story, but it's slow going so far and it's pretty long. It could take me a couple months to get it all together assuming I find the time. So there might not be anything new from me for a little while, but rest assured I'll still be typing away! Until then, it's so long, for now.**

* * *

The room was oddly silent while all eyes stared at Yang - waiting for her to speak up. Opening her mouth once before closing it and shaking her head, Yang reached out to take Blake's hand before turning back to Ruby and Weiss.

"Let me get this straight...you guys went into the forest without permission, found a cave full of Death Stalkers, got chased by an army of Grimm, jumped off a thousand foot waterfall, barely escaped a giant Grimm sea creature, got caught by Professor Goodwitch and _didn't_ get in trouble, jumped out of an exploding building, convinced Nora to break down our door by suggesting she should have a key, walked into a White Fang stronghold unarmed, then used our weapon lockers as a surprise attack...and I missed all of it?"

"Yup!" Ruby replied with an enormous grin while Weiss looked pretty pleased by the laundry list rundown.

Yang's jaw dropped open and she looked at Blake with an expression that was somewhere beyond total disbelief.

"That sucks!"

Laughing at the typical Yang reply, Blake happily curled her fingers into Yang's and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'm sorry you missed out," she murmured in light consolation.

"Missed out? That wasn't missing out, that was...like...losing a kidney or something! We have to do it again!"

"No way," Weiss replied with a shake of her head while Ruby giggled. "I'm pretty sure Professor Goodwitch will expel us if we even _look_ at the forest again."

"But...Blakeeee!"

They all laughed at Yang's whine while Blake tapped her hand comfortingly.

"Ok," Yang finally said, eyes regaining their signature sparkle in no time. "How 'bout this - next time Weiss gets kidnapped."

"What?" Weiss nearly shrieked in surprise. "Why me?"

"Because I can't wish for my little sister or my girlfriend to be kidnapped!"

"Oh, but if it's me, that's fine," Weiss retorted dryly.

"Don't worry, Weiss. I'll come save you." When Yang grinned confidently, Weiss rolled her eyes.

"And what if I don't want you to save me?"

"Oh believe me, you'll want me to save you."

"I'll save her!" Ruby piped in.

"Ruby!" Weiss exclaimed, the scolding tone making Ruby's expression fill with confusion.

"What? This is just hypocritical, right?"

The response made Yang and Blake laugh while Weiss' brow creased.

"I believe you mean _hypothetical_."

"Are you sure? What's the one where it's a fake scenario?"

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Weiss let out a big sigh. "Do I really need to explain this to you again? How do you keep forgetting?"

"Maybe I only _pretend_ to forget so you'll keep explaining it to me! You're suuuuper cute when you explain things!"

When Weiss looked utterly miffed by the response, Yang chuckled.

"There ya go, Ruby!" she said, reaching between their bunk beds to give her sister a high five. "Turn _your_ weaknesses into _her_ weaknesses!"

Shaking her head to remove the temporary spell Ruby had cast on her, Weiss grabbed her partner by the hand, stood, and led her to the door.

"Come on...let's go get lunch and I'll explain to you again why we _don't_ listen to your sister."

Ruby willingly followed Weiss with a giggle, but stopped by the door.

"Jaune did a good job fixin' our door huh?" she remarked before slapping herself lightly on the forehead. "Oh! And no practice today. Way too tired."

"Tired?" Yang exclaimed in consternation. "But I've been sleeping for like a week! I need the exercise!"

When Yang chuckled, Ruby playfully rolled her eyes at her sister and disappeared out the door.

Still chuckling to herself, Yang turned towards Blake and smiled.

They hadn't had a single moment to themselves since being woken this morning by the nurse coming in the check Yang's vitals and scold Blake for falling asleep with the ice sleeve on. In a whirlwind of activity, she'd insisted upon taping Blake's ankle before she left, which helped immensely with the pain, before sending both of them back to their room. They'd returned right when Ruby and Weiss were getting up for the day and had spent the next couple hours telling Yang everything that had happened while she'd been out of commission - much to her complete dismay.

But as they looked at each other now, Blake knew there was still so much that needed to be said.

"I'm so sorry," were the first words tumbling from her lips, remorse doubling when she brushed her hand lightly across Yang's slightly swollen eye, feeling the increased heat of broken blood vessels underneath her fingertips. Tears of guilt sprang into her eyes, which Yang immediately wiped away.

"Hey...don't be. It's one of the things I love about you, after all."

The reply was confusing enough that Blake's tears faltered.

"What?"

"Yeah! Not many people can say they're dating someone who's past might appear out of nowhere and kidnap 'em. It's dangerous and thrilling. Total turn on."

"Yang…" Blake replied, knowing that her partner was only trying to make her feel better by making light of the situation. Sensing the tone, Yang's eyes grew more serious and she squeezed Blake's hands tightly.

"We all have pasts, Blake. I know yours and I accept it, risks and all. Just like you accept mine! Like, look, you can't go to Vale Ice anymore because of me!"

"But -" Blake's words cut off when Yang shook her head.

"Blake…" she said slowly, eyes dropping to the bruises on Blake's neck before raising again, a darker shade of purple than before. "I'm _really_ struggling not to go super nova just thinking about him putting his hands on you. If you're feeling guilty about this...when it's _completely_ not your fault...it's only gonna make me want to flatten his head even more."

Before Blake could argue further, Yang unexpectedly leaned forward and kissed her, one hand tracing Blake's cheek while the other gently tilted her chin up. It was one of those kisses that Yang poured her heart and soul into...proving without words how much love she held for Blake regardless of what had happened. It was more than enough love to wash away the guilt and remorse...and Blake accepted it greedily...selfishly...praying that she could speak to Yang's heart in return.

When the first kiss ended, Yang gave Blake another soft peck on the lips while lingering close, their foreheads pressed gently together.

"This isn't about me, Blake," Yang whispered, curling one hand lovingly around one of Blake's ears. "I'm fine. I basically took a really long nap. I need to know that _you're_ ok." Yang pulled back a few inches so she could look down at Blake, warm hands still holding her tenderly. "Are you ok?"

It was one of the easiest questions in the world to lie to, but not when Yang's eyes held more concern for her than she could ever fully comprehend.

"I'm ok as long as you're safe," she replied honestly, watching the flecks in Yang's eyes sparkle under the lights in their room.

"Yeah? Then we're the same!" Yang announced with a giant smile. "I mean, _I'm_ ok as long as _you're_ safe. Although I guess I should really be safe too…but it's definitely _more_ important that you're safe!"

Chuckling at the adorable rambles, Blake took one of Yang's hands happily. This was the way things were supposed to be.

"I guess you know what I mean," Yang concluded with a grin. "But - hey! What do you think about going on another date tomorrow? Just you and me and some not so crazy adventures? Maybe a super chill movie or something? I bet there are some zombie films playing."

"Absolutely," Blake replied with a smile of her own - more than willing to put this all behind them and go back to being 'normal,' if that term could ever really apply to their lives. "But this time I'm not going home without you."

"Sounds great to me!" Yang added a cute fist pump to match her excitement at what would now be their new rule. No going home alone. Ever.

"And you're going to have a harder time planning surprises for me, you know," Blake added thoughtfully. "Because I'm literally never letting you out of my sight from now on."

"Ohhh the difficulty level increases," Yang replied, not at all phased by the idea of Blake watching her every move. "Alright - you're on! Let's see how good of a surprise I can plan with you watching!"

Playfully rolling her eyes at the boast, Blake said, "I'd guess you won't be able to plan any surprise at all."

"Oh, I think you'll be _surprised_ ," Yang answered, wiggling her eyebrows with a way-too-pleased grin while Blake groaned and teasingly shoved at Yang's shoulder.

"Now, for the _most_ important question," Yang said while coming back and wrapping both arms comfortably around Blake's waist. "If you were _somewhat_ willing to do any part of those escapades again...even just a _teeny,_ _tiny_ bit open to _considering_ it...what part would it be? Keep in mind I'm totally partial to waterfalls."

From the way Yang's eyes twinkled in excitement, she knew that Blake would see right through the thinly veiled question. But Yang asked anyway, as always putting on fully display her uncanny ability to turn even the most serious situation into a lighthearted affair. For someone like Blake, who tended to dwell a little too actively on the negative, Yang's cheer and radiance were a welcome change.

Still - Blake knew better than to list one of the more dangerous parts of the day and risk being dragged along for a repeat.

"I would have to say…" she began slowly, drawing out the answer for Yang's own amusement. "The Death Stalkers...were something…" A grin tugged at her lips when Yang lit up at what she thought the answer was going to be before Blake continued. "But the waterfall…that waterfall - was awfully cold. I _think_ I would have to say...the end. When Ruby and I tried to hobble you all the way back to Beacon."

"Dammit," Yang replied jokingly before nodding in appreciation. "You got me there. Totally thought we were gonna go Stalker Stompin.'"

Blake grinned at the compliment, but grew concerned the instant an idea popped into Yang's mind.

It was one of the more interesting developments of becoming so close that Blake could practically read Yang's sometimes. And right now Yang was not thinking anything that would be good for Blake.

"Yang…" Blake said the name in warning, standing and slowly backing away while Yang moved to follow.

"What? I just wanna give you a hug."

The reply was innocent, but lilac eyes told a different story entirely. Blake wasn't going to fall for _that_ -

Until she did.

When Yang suddenly burst forward Blake half-heartedly tried to skirt out of the way, but it was already too late. Squealing when strong but incredibly gentle arms wrapped around her, Blake was lifted over one of Yang's shoulders as easily as a bag filled with stuffed animals.

"You're right - this is difficult," Yang commented while casually carrying Blake out into the hall.

"Yes, you really seem to be struggling…" Blake replied sarcastically, propping herself up with one elbow on Yang's shoulder and twisting her body so she was facing Yang.

"I am struggling! Struggling not to be swept off my feet, if you know what I mean!"

When Blake laughed, Yang turned to grin up at her and sent her heart into butterflies. Was there anyone more beautiful than Yang, inside and out? And was there anyone luckier than Blake?

Reaching out, she trailed her fingers through Yang's hair and traced the edge of one ear.

"I love you, you know?" she whispered into twinkling lilac eyes. Never again would she try to hide her feelings for Yang. Life was far too short to not spend every minute declaring a love this strong.

"I love you too...Kitten…" Yang replied with a teasing smile.

Only after pretending to sigh in exasperation did Blake bend down to kiss Yang while her partner held her suspended easily off the floor in the middle of the hall. There was no way Blake could ever convey the depths of her emotions as easily as Yang, but she could always hope that somehow, someway, she made Yang feel as treasured as Blake did.

Hearing footsteps approaching, she quickly broke away from Yang's lips as the door across the hall opened and Nora and Ren walked out.

"Hey guys!" Nora greeted them happily, thankfully oblivious to Blake's rampantly flushing cheeks. "What're you up to?"

"Just carrying Blake to dinner," Yang answered nonchalantly, lilac eyes only then breaking away from Blake's. "She hurt her ankle, so can't walk too much."

"I can walk just fine -"

"And she loves being carried around, you know?"

"Excuse me?"

Ignoring Blake's protests, Nora stepped forward with her signature bright eyes beaming up at them.

"Can I help?"

Blake wasn't actually able to move away in this position, but thankfully Yang took an automatic step backward from the zealous grin.

"Uh…" Yang stalled while pulling Blake a bit closer. "Well, I totally got it, you see - don't need the help!"

"But I've always wanted to carry Blake!" Nora exclaimed, extending her arms while Yang moved further away.

"Really?" both of them asked in surprise. Nora nodded eagerly.

"Ever since you just mentioned it!"

Channeling every bit of telepathy she could muster, Blake told Yang to _not_ set her down or hand her over to Nora. Neither of those things. No. Never.

"How about…" Yang replied, taking another half step backwards, but quickly running out of real estate in the narrow hall. "We race! To the cafeteria!"

Without another word, Yang turned and took off down the hall with Blake still clutched in her arms.

"Ren! Come on, we gotta win!"

Looking back over Yang's shoulder, Blake watched as Ren didn't issue a single complaint while being thrown over Nora's shoulder.

"Uh, Yang…" Blake said, watching the two tear around the corner behind them.

"Don't worry, Blake - we got this!" Yang huffed while sprinting as fast as she could with Blake in her arms. "Best partners ever, remember?"

Laughing, Blake turned around, wrapped both arms around Yang's neck, and kissed her on the cheek - ready to enjoy the ride.

Yang was the best partner Blake could have possibly ended up with. Their relationship just...worked...even though sometimes she couldn't even really say why. But who else would Blake ever let carry her through the halls like a sack of flour?

Only Yang. It had been and would always be...only Yang.

Coming to Beacon had been a good decision. Becoming Yang's partner had been a good decision, as had been deciding to open up to her teammates about her past.

Before coming here, she'd never thought a human being could see and treat her as an equal. Her memories had been tainted with harassment and discrimination, so much so that sometimes she'd thought that maybe the White Fang were right - maybe the only way to survive was to fight back. But in her teammates' eyes she saw the respect some Faunus were willing to kill for. And in Yang's eyes, she found two things she'd never even considered to be possible - everlasting love...endless devotion...

And she felt them in return.

For Yang, her teammates, her friends...she was willing to fight to the very end to protect those who had kindness in their hearts - whether they be Faunus, human, or otherwise. There was no battle she wouldn't wage, no bridge she wouldn't cross. For the first time in her life, she had a purpose and sense of direction that felt so incredibly right it couldn't possibly be wrong.

And, if there was anything Adam had taught her, it was that once you found your purpose, you never let it go.


End file.
